Home1
Psychological tests2
Children of Alcoholics Screening Test (CAST)3

Children of Alcoholics Screening Test (CAST)

In about 6 minutes, this test helps clarify how growing up with family alcohol problems may shape codependent patterns and emotions. It offers fast, practical insight to guide support and next steps.

Start Online Test

Questions: 306 minutes

08:30

October 2, 2025

October 2, 2025
Material has been updated

October 2, 2025
Material has been published

28,188 views

2,280 completions

1,844 likes

Verified by Daniel Hall

Psychologist with 25 years of experience

Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

example score

6/10

Aspect 4 (A4)

Aspect 4 measures the extent to which a child takes independent actions or makes plans to address a parent’s alcoholism or protect themselves from a dysfunctional family environment.

Low initiative

Moderate initiative

High initiative

0 – 3: Low initiative | 4 – 7: Moderate initiative | 8 – 10: High initiative

A score of 6 indicates a moderate level of independent efforts or planning to manage the impact of the parent’s drinking or to create personal safety within the family system.

example score

5/9

Domain 3 (D3)

Assesses the degree to which the child has been involved in family violence or conflict situations within an alcoholic family context.

Low involvement

Moderate involvement

High involvement

0 – 2: Low involvement | 3 – 6: Moderate involvement | 7 – 9: High involvement

A score of 5 falls in the Moderate involvement range, suggesting some notable exposure to or participation in family conflict or violent episodes.

example score

4/10

Aspect 2 (A2)

Aspect 2 measures how strongly a parent's alcohol problems have affected a child’s physical and psychological well-being.

Low impact

Moderate impact

High impact

0 – 3: Low impact | 4 – 6: Moderate impact | 7 – 10: High impact

A score of 4 suggests a moderate level of impact, indicating some noticeable effects of the family situation on well-being without reflecting the most severe range.

example score

5/9

Aspect 1 (A1)

Aspect 1 measures the adult child's emotional involvement with the alcoholic parent and their reactions to alcoholism in the family.

Low involvement

Moderate involvement

High involvement

0 – 2: Low involvement | 3 – 6: Moderate involvement | 7 – 9: High involvement

A score of 5 suggests a moderate level of emotional reactivity and involvement with the family alcoholism issue.

example score

6/30

Overall Level of Codependency (OLoC)

Measures how strongly a person’s emotions and behavior remain tied to the effects of parental alcoholism and related family dynamics.

Low

Moderate

High

0 – 3: Low | 4 – 10: Moderate | 11 – 30: High

A score of 6 falls in the Moderate range, suggesting a noticeable but not severe degree of codependent patterns linked to family alcohol-related stress.

Start Online Test

just completed the test

DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

Adult children of alcoholics

46%OF USERS

Adults who grew up with a parent’s drinking and want to understand how it shaped their emotions, relationships, and coping habits.

Teens in drinking households

31%OF USERS

Teenagers who live with alcohol-related conflict at home and want clarity on stress, guilt, people-pleasing, or feeling responsible for others.

Helping professionals screening

23%OF USERS

Psychologists, counselors, social workers, or educators who need a quick starting point to assess codependency-related patterns linked to family alcoholism.

BASED ON AGGREGATED, ANONYMIZED DATA FROM TENS OF THOUSANDS OF FREUDLY USERS.

Benchmarking

See How You Compare

Once you complete the test, your results are compared with real-world data from people in your country.
Below is a preview of how scores are typically distributed across each scale.

Aspect 4 (A4)

Average

7.1

Normal range

5.4 — 8.8

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Aspect 3 (A3)

Average

5.1

Normal range

3.8 — 6.4

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Aspect 2 (A2)

Average

6.7

Normal range

5.3 — 8

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Aspect 1 (A1)

Average

4.1

Normal range

2.6 — 5.6

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Overall Level of Codependency (OLoC)

Average

14.5

Normal range

9.8 — 19.3

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Start Online Test

Featured On

SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Example Questions From the Test

You will be presented with 30 questions. Your responses will be used to assess the quality of relationships in your family of origin, your parents’ attitudes toward alcohol, and your current perception of this issue. For each question, please provide a definite response: “Yes” or “No.”

- Yes
- No
- Yes
- No
- Yes
- No

These are 3 of the 30 real questions — the rest appear in the test. No sign-up needed to start.

Start Online Test

WHAT THE TEST MEASURES

About This Assessment

Codependency Test for Children of Alcoholics, CAST

Children of Alcoholics Screening Test (CAST) - Symptoms and Signs

alcoholism

addiction medicine

codependency

This self-report screener is designed to assess perceptions and experiences commonly associated with growing up in a family affected by problematic alcohol use. The Children of Alcoholics Screening Test (CAST) is typically used to support clinical intake, case formulation, and discussion of family-of-origin concerns.

The measure includes 30 items and is usually completed in about 6 minutes. Items ask respondents to reflect on alcohol-related family interactions and their emotional and behavioral impact, with the goal of identifying areas that may warrant further assessment. It was developed by Gerald R. Weeks and John C. Norcross.

Results from the Children of Alcoholics Screening Test (CAST) should be interpreted in the context of a comprehensive evaluation, including clinical interview and relevant collateral information, and are not intended to serve as a standalone diagnosis.

Author: Gerald R. Weeks, John C. Norcross

Literature: Sher, K. J. Children of alcoholics: A critical appraisal of theory and research. University of Chicago Press. 1991.; Jones, J. W. The Children of Alcoholics Screening Test: A validity study. Psychology: Bulletin of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors. 1983.