CAGE Questionnaire
A brief 4 item, widely used questionnaire designed to assess alcohol use. CAGE is acronym for:
C=Cut down
A=Annoyed
G=Guilty
E=Eye opener

Paper and pen or orally administered Takes less than 1 minute, Yes or No response
Typically administered by health care professional or clinician and is client's self- report, scored by tester
CAGE Questionnaire-4 questions
1. Have you ever felt you should Cut down on your drinking?
2. Have people Annoyed you by criticizing your drinking?
3. Have you ever felt bad or Guilty about your drinking?
4. Have you ever had a drink first thing in the morning to steady your nerves or to get rid of a hangover (Eye opener)?
Scoring: Item responses on the CAGE are scored as 0 or 1. A higher score is an indication of alcohol problems. A total score of 2 or greater is considered to be clinically ToollTsignificant Ewing, 1984; NIAAA, 2002)

Often used in medical settings
Several adaptations of tool available for use including computerized and self- administered versions.
Free, in public domain and translated into many languages
Not used to assess for drugs but adapted CAGE-AID questionnaire can be used for drug use.
Best use is in adult populations
Criticism of the CAGE- not gender-sensitive. Women who are problem drinkers less likely to screen positive than men.
It identifies alcohol-dependent persons, but may not identify binge drinkers.
CAGE asks about "lifetime" experience rather than current drinking. A person who no longer drinks may screen positive unless the clinician directs the questions to focus on a more current time frame (ADAI, 2016).

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