Is the ten-item Questionnaire of Smoking Urges (QSU-brief) more sensitive to abstinence than shorter craving measures?
OBJECTIVE
The Questionnaire on Smoking Urges is now very widely used as a measure of craving but is considerably longer than alternatives in current use. Longer scales carry a significant cost in studies and clinical practice. This study compared the ten-item Questionnaire on Smoking Urges (QSU-brief) with six shorter measures of craving in terms of sensitivity to abstinence and reliability.


METHODS
Sixty smokers were randomly assigned to continue smoking (N = 30) or abstain completely for 24 h (n = 30), by which time the craving would be expected to have increased. Craving was measured at baseline and after 24 h. The craving measures tested were the QSU-brief, the Minnesota Nicotine Withdrawal Scale (MNWS), the Mood and Physical Symptoms Scale (MPSS), the Shiffman Scale (SS), the Wisconsin Smoking Withdrawal Scale and the Cigarette Withdrawal Scale and a simple rating of 'craving' (CR).


RESULTS
All measures showed significant increases in scores following smoking abstinence. The two-item MPSS measure was similar to the QSU-brief (eta-squared 0.41 versus 0.45, respectively), and the CR was only slightly lower (eta-squared 0.37). The MNWS showed the least sensitivity (eta-squared 0.22). Stability while still smoking was good with the exception of the SS which showed a significant reduction on retest.


CONCLUSIONS
The ten-item QSU-brief is not more sensitive to abstinence or reliable than the two-item MPSS or a single rating of craving.
West
Robert
R
Cancer Research UK Health Behaviour Research Centre, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, London WC1E6BT, UK. robert.west@ucl.ac.uk
Ussher
Michael
M
D000328:Adult; D016739:Behavior, Addictive / Q000523:psychology*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011594:Psychometrics; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012907:Smoking / Q000523:psychology*; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000523:psychology*; D013375:Substance Withdrawal Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014029:Tobacco Use Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*