Maryland Addictions Questionnaire (MAQ)

Purpose: Advise the clinician how severe the addiction is, how motivated the patient is, how to best treat the problem, and how likely relapse is

Age: 17+ years

Time: Full Form: 15-20 minutes; Short Form: 5 minutes

Administered at intake, the Maryland Addictions Questionnaire (MAQ) quickly tells you how severe the addiction is, how motivated the patient is, which treatment approach is likely to work, what the risk of relapse is, and whether treatment may be complicated by cognitive difficulties, anxiety or depression.

The MAQ is a self-report inventory composed of 111 items on the following scales:

Substance Abuse Scales

• Alcoholism Severity
• Drug Abuse Severity
• Craving
• Control
• Resentment

Summary Scores

• Emotional Distress
• Resistance to Treatment
• Admission of Problems

Treatment Scales

• Motivation for Treatment
• Social Anxiety
• Antisocial Behaviour
• Cognitive Impairment
• Affective Disturbance

Validity Scales

• Inconsistent Responding
• Defensiveness

It provides standard scores and percentiles for each of these scales. Based on the relative elevation of the Summary Scores, it also assigns the patient one of six Summary Codes, indicating his or her ability to benefit from treatment.

Because the MAQ is brief, yet multidimensional, the items are easy to complete and the scales are easy to interpret, it is an ideal measure for patients entering an addiction treatment program.