Evaluation of the psychometric properties of the cannabis use disorders identification test - revised among college students

Objective: Cannabis use is common among college students and is associated with a variety of negative consequences. The Cannabis Use Disorders Identification Test Revised (CUDIT-R) is an 8-item screening instrument designed to identify potentially problematic or harmful recent cannabis use. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the internal consistency and validity of the CUDIT-R in a sample of college students who reported recent cannabis use (past 30 day). Methods: Participants (n = 229) completed the CUDIT-R and measures of smoking behavior (Daily Smoking Questionnaire; DSQ), cannabis related consequences (Marijuana Problem Index; MPI), and problematic cannabis use (self-reported DSM-5 Cannabis Use Disorder Criteria). Results: The CUDIT-R showed good internal consistency and concurrent validity with cannabis related outcome measures including; frequency of use, cannabis related consequences, and total DSM-5 criteria endorsed. The CUDIT-R also showed evidence of discriminant validity across DSM-5 severity classifications, achieved high levels of sensitivity (0.929) and specificity (0.704), and excellent area under the receiver operating characteristics curve when using a cutoff score of six. All items displayed high levels of discrimination and varied in terms of difficulty and information provided. Conclusions: Overall, the CUDIT-R appears to be a reliable and valid screening measure when used to identify college students at risk for cannabis related problems. Future research should further evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of the CUDIT-R threshold scores with more rigorously established DSM-5 diagnoses, and across a range of populations. Research on the utility of using the CUDIT-R for measuring treatment outcomes is also warranted.