title: Reliability and validity of a short form of the Marijuana Craving Questionnaire.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The Marijuana Craving Questionnaire (MCQ) is a valid and reliable, 47-item self-report instrument that assesses marijuana craving along four dimensions: compulsivity, emotionality, expectancy, and purposefulness. For use in research and clinical settings, we constructed a 12-item version of the MCQ by selecting three items from each of the four factors that exhibited the greatest within-factor internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha coefficient).
  
  
  METHODS
  Adult marijuana users (n=490), who had made at least one serious attempt to quit marijuana use but were not seeking treatment, completed the MCQ-Short Form (MCQ-SF) in a single session.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Confirmatory factor analysis of the MCQ-SF indicated good fit with the 4-factor MCQ model, and the coefficient of congruence indicated moderate similarity in factor patterns and loadings between the MCQ and MCQ-SF. Homogeneity (unidimensionality and internal consistency) of MCQ-SF factors was also consistent with reliability values obtained in the initial validation of the MCQ.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Findings of psychometric fidelity indicate that the MCQ-SF is a reliable and valid measure of the same multidimensional aspects of marijuana craving as the MCQ in marijuana users not seeking treatment.
authors.affiliation: Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, 251 Bayview Blvd., Baltimore, MD 21224, USA. heishman@nih.gov
authors.forename: Stephen J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Heishman
authors.forename: Rebecca J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Evans
authors.forename: Edward G
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Singleton
authors.forename: Kenneth H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Levin
authors.forename: Marc L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Copersino
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Gorelick
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D044383:Black People; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D005006:Ethnicity; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D002189:Marijuana Abuse / Q000523:psychology*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D044465:White People; D055815:Young Adult