The nurse is interviewing a client with a suspected alcohol-use disorder. Which question would be the most helpful in determining if the client may have this disorder?
The nurse is interviewing a client with a suspected alcohol-use disorder. Which question would be the most helpful in determining if the client may have this disorder?
A. "Do you ever feel guilty about your drinking?"
[51%]
B. "Do you drink wine, liquor, or beer?"
[11%]
C. "Do you drink with friends and family?"
[7%]
D. "What age did you start consuming alcohol?"
[31%]
Statistics
Subject/Lesson
Subject
Mental Health
Lesson
Substance Abuse and other dependencies
Client Need
Test Plan
Psychosocial Integrity
Related Topic
Chemical and Other Dependencies/Substance Abuse Disorder
Item Type
Item Type
Application
Explanation
Choice A is correct. Asking the client whether they have guilt regarding their alcohol intake is part of the CAGE questionnaire. This is a standard questionnaire used to determine if alcohol dependence may be an issue. At times an individual may experience guilt associated with their alcohol intake.
Choice B is incorrect. Determining the client's alcohol preference does not determine if a client has a disorder. A client may like wine, but it does not necessarily mean that the client drinks excessively.
Choice C is incorrect. The client's drinking with friends or family has no relevance to a potential alcohol use disorder. Alcohol use disorder is not influenced by whether or not the client drinks alone or with others.
Choice D is incorrect. The age of the client's first exposure to alcohol is irrelevant. The client could have started drinking at age 21 and yet the drinking could have started to become problematic starting at age 33 or another age.
Related Videos
4 Key Topics
Open-Ended Questions
13.10 Therapeutic Communication
Substance abuse
13.4 Substance Use & Family Systems
Additional Info
✓ A CAGE questionnaire is commonly used to determine if the client may have alcohol dependence
✓ Have you felt you needed to cut down on your drinking? Are people annoyed by your drinking? Have you felt guilty about your drinking? Have you ever had a drink in the morning (eye-opener)? A score of 2 or more is significant, although a score of 1 requires further assessment
✓ Features of alcohol use disorder include -
- A need for daily use of large amounts of alcohol for adequate functioning, a regular pattern of heavy drinking limited to weekends, and long periods of sobriety interspersed with binges of heavy alcohol intake lasting for weeks or months strongly suggest alcohol dependence and alcohol abuse.
- The drinking patterns are often associated with certain behaviors: the inability to cut down or stop drinking, repeated efforts to control or reduce excessive drinking by engaging in periods of temporary abstinence or restricting drinking to certain times of the day.
✓ Individuals with alcohol use disorder often have other psychiatric comorbidities, such as antisocial personality disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and trauma-related disorders.
