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Severity of Alcohol Dependence Questionnaire (SADQ)

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

SEVERITY OF ALCOHOL DEPENDENCE QUESTIONNAIRE (SADQ-C)

 

NAME _____________________________________AGE __________ NO._______

DATE :

Please recall a typical period of heavy drinking in the last 6 months. When was this?

Month : ………………………………… Year : ……………………

Please answer all the following questions about your drinking by circling your most appropriate response.

During the period of heavy drinking

1. The day after drinking alcohol, I woke up feeling sweaty

ALMOST NEVER

SOMETIMES

OFTEN

NEARLY ALWAYS

2. The day after drinking alcohol, my hands shook first thing in the morning.

ALMOST NEVER

SOMETIMES

OFTEN

NEARLY ALWAYS

3. The day after drinking alcohol, my whole body shook violently first thing in the morning if I didn’t have a drink.

ALMOST NEVER

SOMETIMES

OFTEN

NEARLY ALWAYS

4. The day after drinking alcohol, I woke up absolutely drenched in sweat.

ALMOST NEVER

SOMETIMES

OFTEN

NEARLY ALWAYS

5. The day after drinking alcohol, I dread waking up in the morning.

ALMOST NEVER

SOMETIMES

OFTEN

NEARLY ALWAYS

6. The day after drinking alcohol, I was frightened of meeting people first thing in the morning.

ALMOST NEVER

SOMETIMES

OFTEN

NEARLY ALWAYS

7. The day after drinking alcohol, I felt at the edge of despair when I awoke.

ALMOST NEVER

SOMETIMES

OFTEN

NEARLY ALWAYS

8. The day after drinking alcohol, I felt very frightened when I awoke.

ALMOST NEVER

SOMETIMES

OFTEN

NEARLY ALWAYS

9. The day after drinking alcohol, I liked to have an alcoholic drink in the morning.

ALMOST NEVER

SOMETIMES

OFTEN

NEARLY ALWAYS

10. The day after drinking alcohol, I always gulped my first few alcoholic drinks down as quickly as possible.

ALMOST NEVER

SOMETIMES

OFTEN

NEARLY ALWAYS

11. The day after drinking alcohol, I drank alcohol to get rid of the shakes.

ALMOST NEVER

SOMETIMES

OFTEN

NEARLY ALWAYS

12. The day after drinking alcohol, I had a very strong craving for a drink when I awoke.

ALMOST NEVER

SOMETIMES

OFTEN

NEARLY ALWAYS

13. I drank more than a quarter of a bottle of spirits in a day (OR 1 bottle of wine OR 7 beers).

ALMOST NEVER

SOMETIMES

OFTEN

NEARLY ALWAYS

14. I drank more than half a bottle of spirits per day (OR 2 bottles of wine OR 15 beers).

ALMOST NEVER

SOMETIMES

OFTEN

NEARLY ALWAYS

15. I drank more than one bottle of spirits per day (OR 4 bottles of wine OR 30 beers).

ALMOST NEVER

SOMETIMES

OFTEN

NEARLY ALWAYS

16. I drank more than two bottles of spirits per day (OR 8 bottles of wine OR 60 beers).

ALMOST NEVER

SOMETIMES

OFTEN

NEARLY ALWAYS

Imagine the following situation :

1. You have been completely off drink for a few weeks

2. You then drink very heavily for two days

How would you feel the morning after those two days of drinking?

17. I would start to sweat.

NOT AL ALL

SLIGHTLY

MODERATELY

QUITE A LOT

18. My hands would shake.

NOT AL ALL

SLIGHTLY

MODERATELY

QUITE A LOT

19. My body would shake.

NOT AL ALL

SLIGHTLY

MODERATELY

QUITE A LOT

20. I would be craving for a drink.

NOT AL ALL

SLIGHTLY

MODERATELY

QUITE A LOT

The Severity of Alcohol Dependence Questionnaire was developed by the Addiction Research Unit at the Maudsley Hospital. It is a measure of the severity of dependence. The AUDIT questionnaire, by contrast, is used to assess whether or not there is a problem with dependence. The SADQ questions cover the following aspects of dependency syndrome :

  • physical withdrawal symptoms
  • affective withdrawal symptoms
  • relief drinking
  • frequency of alcohol consumption
  • speed of onset of withdrawal symptoms

Scoring Answers to each question are rated on a four-point scale :

  • Almost never - 0
  • Sometimes 1
  • Often 2
  • Nearly always 3

• A score of 31 or higher indicates “severe alcohol dependence”.

• A score of 16-30 indicates “moderate dependence”.

• A score of below 16 usually indicates only a mild physical dependency.

• A chlordiazepoxide detoxification regime is usually indicated for someone who scores 16 or over.

• It is essential to take account of the amount of alcohol that the patient reports drinking prior to admission as well as the result of the SADQ.

• There is no correlation between the SADQ and such parameters as the MCV or GGT.

Reference:

  1. Warwick Medical School. Clinical Pharmacology Newsletter (July 2007).

 

 


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