Development and Initial Validation of a Rock Climbing Craving Questionnaire (RCCQ)

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Sports Science
• Addiction Studies

Background:

• Extreme sports participation shares conceptual similarities with behavioral and substance addictions.
• Rock climbers report withdrawal-like symptoms when abstinent from climbing, but craving has not been quantitatively measured.
• A validated measure is needed to understand and compare craving across extreme sports and addictive behaviors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and preliminarily validate a subjective multidimensional inventory to measure craving in rock climbing and mountaineering (RCCQ).
• To investigate the factor structure of a preliminary craving measure for climbers.
• To validate the 15-item, 3-factor RCCQ using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and assess sensitivity to cue exposure.

Main Methods:

• Study 1: 407 climbers completed the preliminary RCCQ to assess its factor structure.
• Study 2: 254 climbers completed the 15-item, 3-factor RCCQ under cue-present or cue-neutral conditions.
• Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to validate the RCCQ's structure and parameter estimates.

Main Results:

• Study 1 identified a 3-factor model ('urge to climb,' 'negative reinforcement,' 'positive reinforcement') explaining 53.65% of variance.
• Study 2 confirmed the 3-factor structure with good model fit after removing one item; parameter estimates were significant.
• The RCCQ factors demonstrated sensitivity to climbing-related cue exposure.

Conclusions:

• Rock climbing craving is multidimensional, mirroring substance-related craving in intention, desire, and withdrawal.
• The 15-item, 3-factor RCCQ is preliminarily validated and sensitive to cues.
• If climbing craving parallels addiction, extreme sports may offer potential as a replacement therapy for substance use disorders.