- Male drinking >14/week or 4 per occasion
- Women drinking >7/week or 3 per occasion
- Craving/strong desire for alcohol
- Inability to curb use
- Dependence and withdrawal sx if stop using
- Development of tolerance
- Alcohol use occupies significant portion of time→ both drinking and planning
- Negative impact on life as a whole→ personal relationships, family, work; can abuse other substances as well
- Multiple screening tests for alcohol abuse including CAGE, AUDIT, T-ACE, NIAA Screen for heavy ETOH use, and AUDIT-C (links to screening tools below)