title: The validity and reliability of a brief measure of cocaine craving.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  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.
  
  
  METHODS
  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).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The CCQ-Brief is a valid and reliable instrument that can be easily administered as a measure of current cocaine craving.
authors.affiliation: Mental Health and Behavioral Sciences, Department of Veterans Affairs-New Jersey Health Care System, Lyons Campus Bldg. 143, 1521 Knollcroft Road, Lyons, NJ 07930-5000, USA. Bradley.Sussner@med.va.gov
authors.forename: Bradley D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Sussner
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Smelson
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rodrigues
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kline
authors.forename: Miklos
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Losonczy
authors.forename: Douglas
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ziedonis
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D003042:Cocaine / Q000009:adverse effects*; D019970:Cocaine-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013375:Substance Withdrawal Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D003042:Cocaine