The validity and reliability of a brief measure of cocaine craving

Introduction: Although craving plays an important role in relapse, there are few brief, valid and reliable instruments to measure the desire to use cocaine in routine clinical practice. The 45-item Cocaine Craving Questionnaire-Now (CCQ-Now) is widely used in research, but its length makes its use in everyday clinical work relatively impractical. This study sought to determine the psychometric properties of the CCQ-Brief, a measure composed of 10 items from the CCQ-Now, in treatment-seeking cocaine abusers. Method: Subjects with cocaine abuse or dependence (n=247) completed the CCQ-Brief, the CCQ-Now, the Voris Cocaine Craving Scale, the Beck Depression Inventory-II, the Beck Anxiety Inventory, and the Addiction Severity Index. Results: The CCQ-Brief was significantly correlated with the CCQ-Now (r=.85, p <.01), the CCQ-Now with the items in common with the CCQ-Brief removed (r=.78, p <.01), all four subscales of the VCCS (craving intensity: r=.47, p <.01; mood: r=.27, p <.01; energy: r=.30, p <.01; sick feelings: r=.28, p <.01), the BDI-II (r=.39, p <.01), the BAI (r=.35, p <.01) and recent drug use (r=.26, p <.01). The internal consistency of the CCQ-Brief was strong (alpha=.90). Discussion: The CCQ-Brief is a valid and reliable instrument that can be easily administered as a measure of current cocaine craving. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.