Utility of the AUDIT for identification of hazardous or harmful drinking in drug-dependent patients.

Abstract

We evaluated the psychometric properties of the alcohol use disorders identification test (AUDIT), a ten-item screening test for identification of hazardous drinkers, in a sample of 82 patients with DSM-III-R drug dependence. AUDIT showed good internal consistency (alpha = 0.94) and a unitary factor structure. Receiver operating characteristics analysis showed the AUDIT to be comparable to the Michigan alcoholism screening test (MAST) in identifying individuals with a current alcohol use disorder and superior to the MAST for those who are hazardous drinkers. In this patient sample, AUDIT performed well at the recommended cut-off score of > or = 8. We recommend use of the AUDIT for identification of hazardous and harmful drinking among individuals with a drug use disorder.