Appendix H: Alcohol Self Assessment

Drinking Problem Questionnaire  
Individual drinking habits may be found on a continuum from responsible drinking through alcohol abuse to alcoholism, or physical dependence. There are many signs that may point to an alcohol problem. Drunkenness per se or solitary drinking does not necessarily indicate alcoholism. A sample of some indicators is listed below. The questionnaire will be meaningful to you only if you are honest with yourself when taking it. The important question is: Is your use of alcohol creating significant negative consequences in your life? 

• Do you sometimes drink heavily after a setback or an argument, or when you receive a poor grade?
• When you experience trouble or are undergoing stress, do you always drink more heavily than usual?
• Can you handle more liquor now than you could when you first began drinking?
• Have you ever awakened the “morning after” and found that you could not remember part of the evening before, even though your friends said that you didn't pass out?
• When drinking with others, do you try to have just a few additional drinks when they won't know of it?
• Are there times when you feel uncomfortable if alcohol isn't available?
• Have you noticed lately that when you start drinking you're in more of a hurry to get to the first drink than you used to be?
• Do you sometimes have negative thoughts or feelings about your drinking?
• Are you secretly irritated when your friends or family discuss your drinking?
• Do you often want to keep drinking after your friends have said that they've had enough?
• When you're sober, do you often regret things you have done or said while drinking?
• Have you tried switching brands or following different plans for controlling your drinking?
• Have you often failed to keep promises you have made to yourself about controlling or cutting down on your drinking?
• Do you try to avoid your girlfriend/boyfriend when you are drinking?
• Are you having an increasing number of school, work, or financial problems?
• Do more people seem to be treating you unfairly without good reason?
• Do you eat very little or irregularly when you're drinking?
• Do you sometimes have the “shakes” in the morning and find that it helps to have a drink?
• Have you noticed lately that you cannot drink as much as you once did? 

(The above questions are adapted from “The Natural History of Alcoholism”, Vallient, 1983.) 

If you can answer “yes” to several of these questions, your drinking is causing problems for you and professional consultation can help prevent problems from getting more intense or numerous. Some people resolve to curb their drinking and can do so for a time only to have their alcohol problems persist or reoccur. The drinking habits of alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence can become very entrenched. Alcohol misuse may damage any combination of the following areas for a student: interpersonal relationships, psychological health, academic functioning, and physical health. Withdrawal from alcohol for someone who has progressed to physical dependence may require medical involvement. 

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