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.

Figures

Fig. 1

Mean scores for Factor 1 (compulsivity), Factor 2 (emotionality), Factor 3 (expectancy), and Factor 4 (purposefulness) of the Marijuana Craving Questionnaire-Short Form as a function of self-reported frequency of daily craving episodes (top panel) and duration of average craving episode (bottom panel) during the past week. Filled symbols indicate a significant (p < 0.05) difference from zero.