title: Ecological momentary assessment in the investigation of craving and substance use in daily life: a systematic review.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Craving is viewed as a major determinant of relapse in persons with substance addiction, but this association remains poorly understood due to its time-limited nature and the biases associated with retrospective reporting. Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) offers new opportunities to examine both craving and substance use with strong ecological validity by collecting real-time data in daily life. This review examined all published studies using EMA to: (1) assess the link between craving and substance use; and (2) identify relevant moderators of craving among substance users.
  
  
  METHODS
  We searched PubMed and PsycInfo databases up to October 31, 2013.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Ninety-one studies were selected, involving mostly tobacco smokers (73%). A majority of studies (92%) reported a positive relationship between craving and substance use, concurrently and prospectively, and among users with different levels of use for both legal and illegal substances. Results suggest that craving is a stronger predictor of relapse episodes when assessed in close temporal proximity to substance use. EMA data also confirmed the influence of diverse within-person and between-person sources of variation in daily life craving reports.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This review provides strong support for the link between craving and substance use, and underscores the importance of the timing of assessments.
authors: University of Bordeaux, PAC Carreire, 146 rue Léo Saignat, CS 61292, 33076 Bordeaux Cedex, France; SANPSY (Addiction Psychiatry), CNRS USR 3413, University of Bordeaux, PAC Carreire, 146 rue Léo Saignat, CS 61292, 33076 Bordeaux Cedex, France; Pôle Addictologie, CH Charles Perrens and CHU de Bordeaux, 121 rue de la Béchade, CS 81285, 33076 Bordeaux Cedex, France.
authors: Fuschia
authors: F
authors: Serre
authors: University of Bordeaux, PAC Carreire, 146 rue Léo Saignat, CS 61292, 33076 Bordeaux Cedex, France; SANPSY (Addiction Psychiatry), CNRS USR 3413, University of Bordeaux, PAC Carreire, 146 rue Léo Saignat, CS 61292, 33076 Bordeaux Cedex, France; INCIA, CNRS UMR 5287, University of Bordeaux, PAC Carreire, 146 rue Léo Saignat, CS 61292, 33076 Bordeaux Cedex, France; Pôle Addictologie, CH Charles Perrens and CHU de Bordeaux, 121 rue de la Béchade, CS 81285, 33076 Bordeaux Cedex, France.
authors: Melina
authors: M
authors: Fatseas
authors: University of Bordeaux, PAC Carreire, 146 rue Léo Saignat, CS 61292, 33076 Bordeaux Cedex, France; INCIA, CNRS UMR 5287, University of Bordeaux, PAC Carreire, 146 rue Léo Saignat, CS 61292, 33076 Bordeaux Cedex, France; Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, 75014 Paris, France.
authors: Joel
authors: J
authors: Swendsen
authors: University of Bordeaux, PAC Carreire, 146 rue Léo Saignat, CS 61292, 33076 Bordeaux Cedex, France; SANPSY (Addiction Psychiatry), CNRS USR 3413, University of Bordeaux, PAC Carreire, 146 rue Léo Saignat, CS 61292, 33076 Bordeaux Cedex, France; Pôle Addictologie, CH Charles Perrens and CHU de Bordeaux, 121 rue de la Béchade, CS 81285, 33076 Bordeaux Cedex, France; Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA. Electronic address: marc.auriacombe@u-bordeaux.fr.
authors: Marc
authors: M
authors: Auriacombe
mesh_terms: D066249:Craving; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018670:Monitoring, Ambulatory / Q000379:methods*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*
keywords: Craving; Ecological momentary assessment; Experience sampling methodology; Relapse; Systematic review