[Page 125]Alcohol use screening measures are instruments ranging from single items or brief questionnaires to longer, structured interviews, used to assess a person’s degree of risk for negative outcomes related to alcohol use. At different ages, specific behaviors (e.g., lifetime alcohol use, the frequency and amount of consumption, negative consequences) are associated with differential risk for the development of increasingly severe patterns of alcohol use or alcohol use disorders (AUDs). Alcohol use screening measures may be used to detect recognized risk factors (e.g., a positive family history of alcohol problems, early onset of use) for the development of alcohol abuse or dependence, or they can be designed to detect specific indicators of diagnostic criteria for AUDs. The information obtained from alcohol screeners is often used ...