The TWEAK alcohol screening test is a short, five-question test which was originally designed to screen pregnant women for harmful drinking habits. Researchers at the Research Institute on Addictions at Buffalo, New York, Department of Obstetrics/Gynecology and Wayne State University developed the TWEAK as a short test more sensitive to detecting alcohol problems in pregnant women.

Note: Any level of drinking during pregnancy can be harmful.

Their follow-up research revealed that the TWEAK test was more effective than the T-ACE test in diagnosing harmful drinking in women.

TWEAK has also been used to screen for harmful drinking in the general population, outpatients, hospital patients, and in emergency room settings.

The test is made up of three questions which appear on the CAGE test, plus two additional questions — one about the person’s tolerance to alcohol and another about blackouts.

The name of the test is an acronym for Tolerance, Worried, Eye-opener, Amnesia, and K/Cut down (with a poetic license use of “K” instead of “C” for cutting down on alcohol consumption).

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1.How many drinks does it take to make you feel high?

1 or 2

3 or more

2.Have close friends or relatives worried or complained about your drinking in the past year?

No

Yes

3.Do you sometimes take a drink in the morning when you first get up?

No

Yes

4.Has a friend or family member ever told you about things you said or did while you were drinking that you could not remember?

No

Yes

5.Do you sometimes feel the need to cut down on your drinking?

No

Yes