RESUMO
AIMS: The goal of the present study was to examine the psychometric properties and factor structure of the Alcohol Craving Questionnaire (ACQ). DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS: The German version of the ACQ was administered to a sample of 243 alcohol-dependent or alcohol-abusing subjects. A subgroup of the sample (n = 46) completed the German translation of the Obsessive Compulsive Drinking Scale (OCDS) and the ACQ a second time. MEASUREMENTS: To validate the factor models, confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) were carried out. Examination of the psychometric properties of the ACQ included the analysis of the item characteristics to exclude non-sensitive items, an exploratory factor analysis of the remaining items and calculation of internal consistency, test-retest reliability and convergent validity. FINDINGS: Neither of the two models showed a satisfactory correspondence. An exploratory factor analysis of a revised version of the ACQ (ACQ-R), based on the psychometric properties of the items, revealed two stable factors ('urge and intention to drink alcohol' and 'reinforcement') with high internal consistency, test-retest reliability and convergent validity. The model fit was also excellent in the CFA. CONCLUSIONS: The ACQ-R is a reliable and valid instrument to assess alcohol craving. However, the ACQ-R lacks items related to loss of control. Therefore a multi-dimensional assessment, e.g. the combination of the ACQ-R and the OCDS, is recommended.
