The CRAFFT Screening Test is a short test for alcohol and drug problems in teenagers.[1] This test has two parts. "CRAFFT" is an acronym for the six questions in the second part of the test.
A doctor or counselor can give the CRAFFT Screening Test to see if a teenager might have an alcohol or drug problem. Teenagers can also take the test themselves.[1]
History
Doctors at Boston Children's Hospital's Center for Adolescent Substance Abuse Research developed the CRAFFT Screening Test in 1999.[2] At the time, there were no tests for alcohol and drug abuse designed specifically for teenagers. The Children's Hospital team's goal was to develop a test for teenagers that was quick, easy to give, easy to score.[3]
At the time, one of the most common tools used to test for alcohol problems was the CAGE questionnaire. However, the CAGE does not work well for teenagers.[4] Also, the CAGE only tests for alcohol problems.
The CRAFFT tests for both alcohol and drug problems. Because drug- and alcohol-relatedmotor-vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among teenagers, the CRAFFT includes a question about this.
Young people getting arrested for binge drinking. The CRAFFT's goal is to find young people with substance use problems before they get in trouble[5]
Originally, the CRAFFT was designed for primary care doctors to use, to test teenagers they thought were likely to have substance abuse problems. Then, around 1999, researchers found that teenage alcohol and drug use was much more common than they thought. They found that:
Half of all high school students drank alcohol.[6] This included:[7]
More than 2 out of every 3 high school seniors (12th graders)
More than half of all high school students had used an illegal drug[8]
This made it clear that the CRAFFT was not just needed to test teenagers who were more likely to have substance abuse problems. Now, experts suggest that primary care doctors use the CRAFFT to test all of their teenage patients. This can help identify alcohol and drug problems early, before they start to get too much worse.[5]
The test
The CRAFFT Screening Test has two parts. They are called "Part A" and "Part B."
If a person answers "no" to ALL of these questions, they only have to answer the first question in Part B.
If a person answers "yes" to ANY of these questions, they have to answer all of the questions in Part B.
Part B
In simple English, here are the questions in Part B of the CRAFFT:
Question
C
Have you ever ridden in a CAR driven by someone who had been using alcohol or drugs? Have you ever driven a CARafter you had been using alcohol or drugs?
R
Have you ever used alcohol or drugs to RELAX, feel better about yourself, or fit in with other people?
A
Have you ever used alcohol or drugs while you were ALONE (by yourself)?
F
Do you ever FORGET things you did while you were using alcohol or drugs?
F
Do your FAMILY or FRIENDS ever tell you you should use less alcohol or drugs?
T
Have you ever gotten into TROUBLE while you were using alcohol or drugs?
Scoring
Each time a person answers "yes" to one of the CRAFFT questions, they score one point for that question. If a person scores two or more - meaning they answered "yes" to at least two of the six "CRAFFT" questions - they are likely to have alcoholism or a drug addiction.
Not everyone who scores two or more on the CRAFFT will have an addiction. However, they do need to be tested more to see if they have an addiction.
Effectiveness
Research has shown that the CRAFFT is a good test for alcohol and drug problems in teenagers.[9][4][10] For example:[4]
92% of teenagers who score 2 or more on the CRAFFT do have a substance abuse problem
64% of teenagers who score less than 2 do not have a substance abuse problem
The CRAFFT is a very quick test. It takes an average of 74 seconds for a doctor to give the CRAFFT. If a person takes the CRAFFT on their own, it takes an average of 49 seconds.[5]
↑ 1.01.1"The CRAFFT Screening Tool". The Center for Adolescent Substance Abuse Research. Children's Hospital Boston. 2009. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
↑Neinstein, Lawrence S.; Gordon, Catherine M.; Katzman, Debra K.; Rosen, David S.; Woods, Elizabeth R., ed. (2008). "CRAFFT". Adolescent Health Care: A Practical Guide (5th ed.). Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. p. 950. ISBN978-0-7817-9256-1.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link)
↑ 4.04.14.2Knight JR; Sherritt L 2003 (2003). "Validity of brief alcohol screening tests among adolescents: A comparison of the AUDIT, POSIT, CAGE, AND CRAFFT". Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research. 27 (1): 67–73. doi:10.1111/j.1530-0277.2003.tb02723.x. PMID12544008.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
↑ 5.05.15.2Harris SK; Louis-Jacques J 2014 (2014). "Screening and brief intervention for alcohol and other abuse". Adolescent Medicine: State of the Art Reviews. 25 (1). American Academy of Pediatrics: 126–56. PMID25022191.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
↑Bertini MC; Busaniche J et al. 2015 (2015). "Transcultural adaptation and validation of the CRAFFT as a screening test for problematic alcohol and substance use, abuse and dependence in a group of Argentine adolescents". Archivos Argentinos de Pediatria. 113 (2): 114–8. doi:10.5546/aap.2015.eng.114. PMID25727823.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
↑Cummins LH; Chan KK et al. 2003 (2003). "Validity of the CRAFFT in American-Indian and Alaska-Native adolescents: Screening for drug and alcohol risk". Journal of Studies on Alcohol. 64 (5): 727–32. doi:10.15288/jsa.2003.64.727. PMID14572196.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
↑Cote-Menendez M; Uribe-Isaza MM et al. 2013 (2013). "Validation for Colombia of the CRAFFT substance abuse screening test in adolescents". Revista de salud pṹblica (Bogotá, Colombia). 15 (2): 220–32. PMID24892665.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
