Does completing a craving questionnaire promote increased smoking craving? An experimental investigation

The authors evaluated whether completing a multi-item assessment of smoking craving (the Questionnaire of Smoking Urges [QSU]) promoted increases in smoking craving. A sample of 39 regular smokers was randomly assigned to 1 of 3 manipulations (each of 3 min duration): (a) complete the QSU-Brief (10 items), (b) complete a noncraving questionnaire that was structurally identical to the QSU-Brief (scale-based control), and (c) a time-based control. Participants responded to an oral question assessing their degree of craving immediately before and after the manipulations. Results indicated that the QSU did not promote increases in craving compared to the 2 control conditions. Despite continuing debate over the most appropriate self-report measure of craving, investigators who use the QSU-Brief can be reasonably sure that the scores that result are not biased due to reactivity effects.