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The CRAFFT is the substance-use screen for adolescents. The acronym names the six core items: Car, Relax, Alone, Forget, Family/Friends, Trouble. Boston Children’s Hospital’s Center for Adolescent Behavioral Health Research maintains the current 2.1 version at CRAFFT.org. The CRAFFT is the only adolescent-specific substance-use measure in the Rivet library — for clients aged 12–21, it’s the validated alternative to adult instruments like the AUDIT and DAST-10.

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What it measures

Two parts:
  • Part A — past-12-month frequency of three substance categories: alcohol, marijuana, and other drugs. Frequency is captured (0, 1, 2–3, 4–9, 10–19, 20–39, 40+ days) but doesn’t contribute to the screen score.
  • Part B — the 6-item CRAFFT screen, yes/no:
    • Car — riding with a driver who’d been drinking or using
    • Relax — using to relax, feel better about yourself, fit in
    • Alone — using alone
    • Forget — forgetting things while using
    • Family/Friends — being told by family or friends to cut down
    • Trouble — getting into trouble while using

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When to send it

  • Adolescent intake (any client 12–21)
  • Routine adolescent-medicine substance-use screening
  • Pre/post for adolescent substance-use treatment
  • When parents raise concerns and you want a validated instrument as part of the assessment

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Scoring and severity cutoffs

Sum of Part B yes-scored items, range 0–6. Part A frequency items are captured for context but don’t add to the screen score. Cutoff ≥2 is the standard threshold (Knight et al. 2002).
Per CRAFFT 2.1 guidance, Part B should be administered if any Part A item is ≥1 day, OR if the adolescent has ridden in a car with an impaired driver. Rivet presents all items without conditional gating, leaving the clinical judgment with you — you can choose to score only Part B when Part A is all-zero with no car item endorsed.

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CRAFFT vs AUDIT and DAST-10

The CRAFFT is the only substance screen here written for adolescents, and the age range is the reason to use it: 12 to 21. The AUDIT and DAST-10 were validated in adults, and the questions they ask — about work, about dependence over a year — don’t land the same way with a sixteen-year-old. It also covers alcohol and drugs in one instrument, where the adult pair needs two, and its six screening questions are about the contexts and consequences that actually matter at that age: riding with an impaired driver, using alone, forgetting, being told to cut down. Over 21, move to the AUDIT and DAST-10. Around the boundary, use whichever fits the client’s circumstances rather than their birthday.

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Is it free to use?

Yes. Free for clinical use. CRAFFT.org asks users to register as a courtesy — not a condition, but worth doing.

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Citation

Knight, J. R., Sherritt, L., Shrier, L. A., Harris, S. K., & Chang, G. (2002). Validity of the CRAFFT substance abuse screening test among adolescent clinic patients. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 156(6), 607–614. Current 2.1 version maintained by the Center for Adolescent Behavioral Health Research at Boston Children’s Hospital at CRAFFT.org. Free clinical use; the publisher courtesy-requests registration.

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When not to use it

For adults (22+), the AUDIT family and DAST-10 are the validated alternatives. The CRAFFT’s car-and-peer-pressure framing is calibrated to adolescent social context — it can read awkwardly with older clients and its norms come from the 12–21 sample.

AUDIT-C

The 3-item adult alcohol screen.

DAST-10

The 10-item adult non-alcohol drug screen.