What does DAST-10 assess, and what is its scoring range?

• A. Drug Abuse Screening Test-10; assesses problematic drug use (excluding alcohol); scores range 0–10.
• B. Alcohol Use Disorder Test-10; assesses alcohol dependence; scores range 0–10.
• C. Drug Abuse Severity Test-10; assesses general substance use; scores range 0–40.
• D. Depression and Anxiety Scale-10; assesses mood disorders; scores range 0–10.

Answer: (A)

DAST-10 is a brief self-report screening tool that identifies problematic drug use (excluding alcohol). It consists of 10 yes/no items, with each affirmative response adding 1 point. The total score ranges from 0 to 10, and a higher score indicates greater likelihood and severity of drug-use problems. This distinguishes it from alcohol-specific tools and from scales that measure mood disorders or broader substance use with a different scoring range.