The AUDIT has 10 questions and the possible responses to each question are scored 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4, with the exception of questions 9 and 10 which have possible responses of 0, 2 and 4.
The range of possible scores is from 0 to 40 where 0 indicates an abstainer who has never had any problems from alcohol. A score of 1 to 7 suggests low-risk consumption according to World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. Scores from 8 to 14 suggest hazardous or harmful alcohol consumption and a score of 15 or more indicates the likelihood of alcohol dependence (moderate-severe alcohol use disorder).
Results from the original WHO study showed that the term “drink” in questions 2 and 3 encompassed amounts of alcohol ranging from 8 grams to 13 grams. Where a standard drink is defined as an amount outside this range (e.g. 20 grams) it is recommended that the response categories are modified accordingly.
See: Drink-Less Program, AUDIT Decision Tree, Interactive AUDIT Test
