Assessing craving in cocaine and cocaine base paste users: validation of the Cocaine Craving Questionnaire-Brief in a Chilean sample

BACKGROUND: One of the principal components of substance use treatment is the assessment of craving, as it is highly associated with relapse after treatment. The Cocaine Craving Questionnaire-Brief (CCQ-Brief) has emerged as a commonly used tool in the field, relevant in a context like South America, where cocaine and cocaine base paste (CBP) consumption are critical public health issues.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to validate the CCQ-Brief in a Chilean sample, exploring for the first time its applicability in both cocaine and CBP use.

METHODS: Adults in substance use treatment ( N  = 439, 71,3% male) completed the CCQ-Brief, assessing craving for cocaine and CBP over the past 30 days. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to test the CCQ-Brief one-factor structure. Convergent validity was analyzed through correlations with related constructs, including impaired control, impulsivity facets, frequency of cocaine/CBP use and related symptomatology.

RESULTS: CFA supported CCQ-Brief one-factor structure, with high internal consistency (α = 0.92 and ω = 0.94 for the 10-item version). Factorial invariance analysis showed that the CCQ-Brief performs equivalently across cocaine and CBP users. Craving scores were moderately to strongly correlated with impaired control dimensions, impulsivity facets, cocaine/CBP use and related symptomatology.

CONCLUSIONS: These results show evidence of the CCQ-Brief as a reliable and valid instrument for general craving of cocaine and CBP in a Chilean context, being the first version of the CCQ-Brief that confirms its unifactorial dimension with all its 10 items in the country.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13722-026-00647-5.