Psychiatry Investig.  2008 Sep;5(3):175-178.

A Study of the Reliability and Validity of the Korean Version of the Penn Alcohol Craving Scale for Alcohol-Dependent Patients

• Kim MJ
• Kim SG
• Kim HJ
• Kim HC
• Park JH
• Park KS
• Lee DK
• Byun WT
• Kim CM

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
The Penn Alcohol Craving Scale (PACS) is a stronger predictor of subsequent drinking and relapse of alcohol dependence that can be administered more quickly and easily than other craving scales. The goal of this study was to develop the Korean version of the Penn Alcohol Craving Scale (PACS-K).
METHODS
To examine the psychometric properties of the PACS-K, responses were chosen from 80 patients admitted to a treatment facility for alcohol dependence.
RESULTS
The PACS-K possesses good psychometric properties, as assessed by Cronbach's alpha estimates (Cronbach's alpha=0.91). The test-retest reliability of the PACS-K showed high correlation (p<0.01) when the retest interval was 1 day. When the validity of the PACS-K was investigated using correlation analysis with two other craving scales (the Obsessive Compulsive Drinking Scale (OCDS) and the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), high correlations were obtained between total PACS scores and total OCDS scores, and between total PACS scores and VAS scores (p<0.01, respectively).
CONCLUSION
The PACS-K is a reliable and valid measure of alcohol cravings, and it could be useful for predicting which individuals are at risk for subsequent relapse.

Keyword

Korean version of the Penn Alcohol Craving Scale; Reliability; Validity; Alcohol

MeSH Terms

Alcoholism
Drinking
Humans
Psychometrics
Recurrence
Reproducibility of Results*
Weights and Measures