The Alcohol Effects Questionnaire (AEQ) is used to assess?

• A. To monitor liver enzymes
• B. To measure withdrawal symptoms
• C. To assess expected positive and negative effects of alcohol
• D. To assess sleep quality

Answer: (C)

The main concept here is expectancy: what a person believes drinking alcohol will do for them. The Alcohol Effects Questionnaire asks people to anticipate the likely positive and negative effects of alcohol, capturing their beliefs about how drinking will influence mood, sociability, energy, impairment, and similar experiences. This focus on expected outcomes helps explain why someone might choose to drink and how those expectancies relate to drinking behavior and risk for heavier use. It isn’t about actual physiological measures like liver enzymes, nor about withdrawal symptoms, nor about sleep quality, which would be evaluated with different tools.