The mini alcohol craving experience questionnaire: Development and clinical application

Background - Standardised alcohol craving scales are rarely used outside of research environments despite recognised clinical utility. Scale length is a key barrier to more widespread application. A brief measure of alcohol craving is needed to improve research and treatment of Alcohol Use Disorders (AUDs) . Grounded in the Elaborated Intrusion Theory of Desire, the Alcohol Craving Experience (ACE) questionnaire comprises two 11 - item self-report scales which assess past-week frequency and maximum strength of alcohol craving . This study aimed to create a brief version of the ACE while maintaining psychometric integrity and clinical utility. Methods - Patients attending a university hospital alcohol and drug out-patient service for treatment of AUD completed the ACE as part of a questionnaire battery. Three patient samples were utilised: 519 patients with pre-treatmen t and outcome data; 228 patients with pre-treatment data; and 66 patients who completed the ACE at treatment sessions one and two. Results - The Frequency scale of the ACE possessed greater clinical utility and predictive validity than the Strength scale. Revision of the Frequency measure produced a 5-item ‘ Mini Alcohol Craving Experience ’ (MACE) questionnaire. Satisfactory validity (construct, predictive, concurrent, convergent, and incremental ) and reliability ( internal and test-retest ) was maintained. A one standard deviation increase in pre-treatment MACE score was associated with a 54 percent increase in the odds of patient lapse or dropout. Conclusions - The MACE provides a brief, theoretically and psychometrically robust measure of alcohol craving suitable for use with AUD populations in time-limited clinical and research settings.