Two Scales to Evaluate Cocaine Craving

Abstract

The cocaine craving questionnaire-brief (CCQ-Brief English) asks cocaine users to report their level of craving now. We constructed two brief scales of cocaine craving in a sample of 107 Spanish-speaking natives in treatment for cocaine abuse or dependence: the CCQ-Brief(Spanish) and the pictographic assessment of desire (PAD), which relies less on language. Principal component analyses yielded a one-component solution for the CCQ-Brief, explaining between 62% and 68% of the sample variability. Cronbach's alpha ranged from .92 to .94. The CCQ-Brief and the PAD were strongly correlated; effect sizes ranged from .42 to .68 in separate trials. Laboratory cue-exposure results showed that in both scales craving was higher upon presentation of cocaine-related rather than neutral pictorial stimuli. The CCQ-Brief and PAD are potentially valuable scales for evaluating cocaine craving.

RÉSUMÉ

Dos Escalas para Evaluar el Craving por la Cocaína

La versión breve del Cuestionario Craving por la Cocaína (CCQ-Brief) permite conocer el nivel de craving informado por consumidores en el momento actual. En este estudio validamos dos cuestionarios breves de craving por la cocaína en una muestra de 107 españoles en tratamiento por consumo de cocaína; el CCQ-Breve y la Escala Pictográfica de Deseo (PAD). El análisis de componentes principales señaló la existencia de un factor que explicaba entre el 62% y el 68% de la varianza. El rango del Alfa de Cronbach se encontraba entre .92 y .94. El CCQ-Breve y el PAD mostraron correlaciones entre .42 y .68 en dos ensayos diferentes de exposición a estímulos desencadenantes de deseo. Ambas escalas detectaron diferencias entre la exposición a estímulos relacionados con la cocaína y estímulos neutros. Los resultados señalan que tanto el CCQ-Breve como la escala PAD fueron útiles para evaluar el craving por la cocaína.

RESUMEN

Deux Échelles pour Évaluer le Carving pour la Cocaine

La version brève du Questionnaire pour la Cocaïne (CCQ-Brief) nous permet de connaître le niveau de carving indiqué par des consommateurs au moment actuel. Dans cette étude nous validons deux questionnaires brefs de carving pour la cocaïne à partir d’un échantillon de 107 Espagnols sous traitement contre la consommation de cocaïne; le CCQ-Breve et l’Échelle Pictographique de Désir (PAD). Cette analyse des principaux composants a souligné l’existence d’un facteur qui explique entre 62% et 68% de la variété. Le rang de l’Alfa de Cronbach se trouvait entre 92 et 94. Le CCQ-Breve et le PAD ont marqué des corrélations entre 42 et 68 dans des essaies différents d’expositions à des stimulants déclencheurs du désir. Les échelles ont détecté des différences entre l’exposition à des stimulants en rapport avec la cocaïne et des stimulants neutres. Les résultats signalent qu’aussi bien le CCQ-Breve que l’échelle PAD ont été utiles para évaluer le carving pour la cocaïne.

Keywords :

• cocaine
• craving; cue-exposure
• assessment
• cross-cultural

THE AUTHORS

Miguel A. Munoz, Ph.D., is a Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación postdoctoral fellow at the University of Islas Baleares, Department of Psychology. Miguel earned his doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology from University of Granada in 2007. Current research interests include the emotional, physiological and neuropsychologycal factors related to drugs craving. Recent projects have investigated the emotional modulation on tobacco users in Virtual environments.

Julia A. Martinez, M.A. is a doctoral student in Clinical Psychology at the University of Missouri under the direction of Kenneth Sher, Ph.D. She is interested in antecedents and consequences of substance use and abuse, special and underrepresented populations, and public health implications of research.

María Carmen Fenández, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Granada, Spain. She obtained her Doctoral degree at the University of Granada in 1987. Her research interest include the psychophysiological mechanisms of food craving and its role in eating disorders.

Jaime Vila, Ph.D., is Professor of Psychology at the University of Granada, Spain. He graduated in Psychology at the Complutense University of Madrid, Spain, in 1971 and obtained his PhD at the University of Manchester, UK, in 1977. His research interests include topics in cognitive and affective neuroscience related to the processing of positive and negative emotions using peripheral and central electrophysiological measures.

Dr. Antonio Cepeda-Benito is a Professor of Psychology and the Dean of Faculties and Associate Provost at Texas A&M University. His research interests include animal models to investigate the environmental influences in drug-related phenomena as they relate to neurobiological basis of the development of tolerance to drug effects. His research also includes studies on drug and food craving aimed to develop and validate the assessment of craving at the semantic, physiological and behavioral levels.

Notes

1 Although the lack of penalties and punishments for nonparticipation is clearly championed in human subjects research, the lack of direct benefits for participating, especially for participants who are also patients, has become a matter of ethical debate in substance abuse research (it has had a longer tenure as a matter of debate in terminal diseases research; Einstein and Kleinig, 2006; Wertheimer and Miller, 2008).