Dear Dr. Bill,

Between reading your columns and seeing that poor kid on Bill Moyers' PBS program, "Close To Home," whose dad didn't think his addiction was affecting his son, I've been left in a quandary. My kids say that their dad's drinking doesn't bother them... of course, my husband, like the dad on PBS, agrees. Our children are age 8 and 10... How can I tell if they really are hurting?

Worried Mom

Dear Worried,

Last week, I promised to print another screening instrument. The Children of Alcoholic's Screening Test (CAST). Composed of thirty test items formulated from real life experiences shared by clinically diagnosed children of alcoholic parents, CAST is designed to measure children's feelings, perceptions, and experiences related to their parent's drinking behavior. Since being published in the journal, Alcoholic Health and Research World, it has been used to identify and measure the level of trauma found in latency-age, adolescent and adult children of alcoholics.

Kids 9 years or older can usually complete the test with no help. For children under 8 each item usually needs to be read and sometimes translated. All "yes" answers are tabulated to yield a total score:

1. Have you ever thought your parent has a drinking problem?
2. Have you ever lost sleep because of a parent's drinking?
3. Have you ever asked a parent to stop drinking?
4. Did you ever feel alone, scared, nervous, or any because a parent is unable to stop drinking?
5. Do you ever argue or fight with a parent while he or she is drinking?
6. Have you ever threatened to run away because of the drinking?
7. Has a parent ever yelled or hit you or other family members while drinking?
8. Have you heard your parents fight when one of them was drunk?
9. Have you ever protected another family member from a drunk parent?
10. Have you ever felt like hiding or emptying a parents bottle of liquor?
11. Do many of your thoughts revolve around the drinking parent or the difficulties that arise because of the drinking?
12. Do you ever wish that a parent would stop drinking?
13. Do you ever feel responsible for or guilty about a parent's drinking?
14. Were you ever afraid that your parents might divorce because of being embarrassed or ashamed about a parent's drinking?
15. Did you ever feel caught in the middle of a fight or argument between the problem drinker and the other parent?
16. Did you ever feel you caused a parent to drink?
17. Have you ever felt that the problem drinking parent doesn't love you
18. Do you ever resent a parent's drinking?
19. Have you ever worried about a parents health because of drinking?
20. Have you ever been blamed for a parents drinking?
21. Did you ever think your father was a alcoholic?
22. Did you ever wish your home could be like those of your friends whose parents don't have a drinking problem?
23. Did a parent ever make promises that weren't kept because of drinking?
24. Did you ever think your mother was an alcoholic?
25. Did you ever wish you could talk to someone who would understand and help solve the alcohol problems in your family?
26. Did you ever fight a sibling about a parent's drinking?
27. Did you ever stay away from home to avoid the drinking or non-drinking parent?
28. Have you ever felt sick, cried, or had a "knot" in your stomach due to worry over a parent's drinking?
29. Do you ever take over chores or duties that were done by the parent before drinking became a problem?

The score can range from zero (no experience with parental alcohol abuse) to 30 (multiple experiences). Even without scoring, talking about the questions with a child can be both diagnostic and therapeutic. Worried, if your kids score high, your family is probably in deep trouble. I urge you to seek help pronto. Call me.