Cannabis Use Disorders Identification Test – Revised

The CUDIT-R screens for problematic cannabis use over the past six months. Its eight questions cover four areas with two questions each: consumption, cannabis-related problems, signs of dependence, and psychological effects. Questions 1–7 are scored 0 to 4 and question 8 is scored 0, 2 or 4, giving a total between 0 and 32. If the patient has not used cannabis in the past six months, the questionnaire ends there.

Use the CUDIT-R when a patient uses cannabis and you want to know whether their use might be causing problems. The developers note that it may also be suitable as a brief measure to repeat over time.

The CUDIT-R was published in 2010 by Simon J. Adamson, Frances J. Kay-Lambkin, Amanda L. Baker, Terry J. Lewin, Louise Thornton, Brian J. Kelly and J. Douglas Sellman. It revises the original 10-item CUDIT, which had been published as a prototype in 2003, keeping four of the original items and adding four new ones.

The CUDIT-R was developed with 144 patients taking part in a clinical trial for co-occurring depression and substance misuse. It was shorter than the original CUDIT and had equivalent or better psychometric properties. With a cutoff of 13, it identified 91% of people with a current cannabis use disorder (DSM-IV) and correctly classified 90% of those without. Commonly used versions of the form state that scores of 8 or more indicate hazardous cannabis use and scores of 12 or more a possible cannabis use disorder.

The CUDIT-R is a screen, not a diagnosis. Different cutoffs are in use: the form gives 8 for hazardous use and 12 for a possible disorder, while the original study found 13 to be optimal for a DSM-IV diagnosis. Its cutoff was developed with DSM-IV criteria in a clinical sample, so accuracy may differ for DSM-5 and in other groups; a study in a Latin American population found lower accuracy. There is no validated German version, which is why it is only available in English here.