A principal components analysis of the abbreviated Desires for Alcohol Questionnaire (DAQ)

The aim of this study was to examine the abbreviated Desires for Alcohol Questionnaire (DAQ) with respect to component structure and concurrent validity.

The DAQ was administered to 2,960 adults participating in the Collaborative Studies on the Genetics of Alcohol. Rotated principal components analysis was conducted on 1,500 subjects with an alcohol-use disorder (AUD) and on 1,460 non-AUD subjects. Total DAQ scores were compared for these two subsamples. In addition, correlations were computed between DAQ scores and the following: (1) a sum of alcohol symptoms, and (2) endorsement of a single interview craving question.

Similar solutions emerged in the AUD and non-AUD subsamples, with dimensions characterized by (1) strong desires/intentions to drink, (2) negative reinforcement, and (3) positive reinforcement + ability to control drinking. Each component was significantly correlated with the alcohol symptom scale in both subsamples (r(s) = .25-.64 and .31-.40, respectively, p < .0001) and with the interview craving item in the AUD subsample (r(s) = .22-.55, p < .0001). Total DAQ score was significantly higher for AUD subjects (40.5) than for non-AUD subjects (23.1, p < .0001) and exhibited significant correlations with the alcohol symptom scale in the AUD and non-AUD subsamples (r(s) = .61 and .39, respectively, p < .0001) and with the interview craving item in the AUD subsample (r(s) = .51, p < .0001).

The DAQ is an appropriate measure of alcohol craving, as demonstrated by similar component structures across two samples as well as its concurrent validity.