Validity of the Obsessive Compulsive Drinking Scale (OCDS): does craving predict drinking behavior?

OBJECTIVE

The Obsessive Compulsive Drinking Scale (OCDS), a 14-item, self-report questionnaire, was developed to measure alcohol-related craving. The OCDS may provide a measure of the state of illness among alcohol-dependent individuals and may have value in predicting subsequent drinking behavior. The present study was conducted to evaluate the factor structure and the concurrent, construct, and predictive validity of the OCDS.

METHODS

Data on desire to drink and on drinking behavior were obtained from 127 alcohol-dependent subjects who participated in a 12-week outpatient pharmacotherapy trial and a 3-month posttreatment follow-up.

RESULTS

Principal components analysis of the OCDS indicated that three factors best described its structure: obsessions, drinking control and consequences, and alcohol consumption. Data also supported the concurrent and discriminant validity of the OCDS. However, the OCDS total score showed limited validity in predicting drinking during a posttreatment follow-up period. Furthermore, the only empirically derived factor that predicted drinking during this period was the alcohol consumption factor.

CONCLUSIONS

As might be expected, the OCDS questions on drinking behavior predict subsequent drinking behavior. However, the instrument does not appear to provide a general measure of alcohol-related illness. The utility of the OCDS in studies of alcoholism treatment outcome requires clearer definition.