Teen alcohol and drug disorders more common than previous...( Do you ever use alcohol/drugs while you...)

Answering "yes" to two or more questions is highly predictive of an alcohol or drug-related disorder. "The beauty of this questionnaire it can be easily added to any office visit as part of the patient's routine physical," said Knight.

This brief screening test, which takes five minutes to administer, is expected to greatly increase the number of providers who screen for substance abuse. If a problem is identified, the health care provider should determine the best next step, be it further discussion in the office or referral to substance abuse specialists," said Knight. At Children's Hospital, patients are referred to the Adolescent Substance Abuse Program (ASAP) for a full diagnostic work-up, including behavioral and developmental assessments, so that the appropriate level of treatment can be recommended.

According to Knight, despite agreement in the medical community that physicians are in an ideal position to identify problems - more so than parents - many health care providers do not routinely ask their patients about alcohol and drug use and those who do so may not know the right questions to ask.

Although the questions appear simple, Knight cautioned parents that the tool is not designed for their use at home. "It's tempting for parents to think that this is a simple questionnaire that can put the issue to rest in their minds. In reality, many will gain a false sense of security when their teens answer 'no' to the questions," he said. "Teens are good at telling their parents what they think they want to hear. We believe and our research shows support for the idea that teens are far more
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