The DOI matches its Crossref record; 39 of the 41 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Assessing craving and its relationship to subsequent prescription opioid use among treatment-seeking prescription opioid dependent patients
Open accessAbstract
Background Craving is viewed as a core feature of substance use disorders and has been shown to predict future drug use, particularly over the short term. Accordingly, craving is often assessed in treatment settings as a marker of risk for subsequent drug use. The identification of the briefest measure that maintains predictive validity is of particular value for both clinical and research settings to minimize assessment burden while maintaining utility for the prediction of use.Methods Data from a multi-site clinical trial of treatment for prescription opioid dependence were examined to evaluate whether a brief, 3-item craving scale administered each week predicted urine-confirmed self report of prescription opioid use in the subsequent week. Logistic regression models examining the association between craving and presence or absence of opioid use in the following week were conducted, controlling for opioid use in the previous week, treatment condition, and lifetime history of heroin use.Results Greater craving was associated with a higher odds of prescription opioid use in the following week. For each one-unit increase on this 10-point scale, the odds of using opioids in the subsequent week was 17% higher. In addition to an item assessing urges, items assessing cue-induced craving and perceived likelihood of relapse in an environment where drugs were previously used contributed uniquely to this association.Conclusions A brief measure of prescription opioid craving predicted prescription opioid use among individuals in treatment. This measure offers an efficient strategy to inform the assessment of risk for use in this population.
Overview
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
The source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“Self-reported craving can be evaluated by tools that are specific to craving or as a single item within a broader assessment tool (summarized in Table 1 ) (63, 72).”
From Craving in Opioid Use Disorder: From Neurobiology to Clinical Practice (2019) · cites this paper as [63]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“The craving scale was initially developed to assess cravings related to cocaine use with high internal consistency and validity [36] and has displayed adequate internal consistency and validity when adapted for other substances [39,40].”
In the citing paper
“Although multi-item scales may offer improved reliability and sensitivity compared with single-item scales (12, 62), they can be cumbersome, time-consuming, and lead to respondent disengagement, demotivation, and increased reactivity (62, 63).”
From Craving in Opioid Use Disorder: From Neurobiology to Clinical Practice (2019) · cites this paper as [63]
In the citing paper
“Alternatively, multi-item scales can be used to assess craving (62), for example, the Opioid Craving Scale includes three questions each rated on a 0–10 VAS.”
From Craving in Opioid Use Disorder: From Neurobiology to Clinical Practice (2019) · cites this paper as [63]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Citations
Cites
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
Williams, J. B. W., & First, M. B. (2013) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780199975839.013.104 · Cited by 109,845
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
(2012) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/springerreference_121117 · Cited by 20,772
Monitoring the Future: National Results on Adolescent Drug Use: Overview of Key Findings
Johnston, L. D., O’Malley, P. M., Bachman, J. G., & Schulenberg, J. E. (2003) · FOCUS The Journal of Lifelong Learning in Psychiatry · doi:10.1037/e560352009-001 · Cited by 6,930
Sobell, L. C., & Sobell, M. B. (1992) · Measuring Alcohol Consumption · doi:10.1007/978-1-4612-0357-5_3 · Cited by 4,110
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
Preedy, V., & Watson, R. (2010) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-0-387-78665-0_5485 · Cited by 1,146
Timeline Follow-Back: A Technique for Assessing Self-Reported Alcohol Consumption
Sobell, L. C., & Sobell, M. B. (1992) · NSUWorks (Nova Southeastern University) · Cited by 779
Weiss, R. D. (2011) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2011.121 · Cited by 540 · cited 2×
“Counseling was not associated with treatment outcome in either phase (Weiss et al., 2011).”
BackgroundMethodSelf-citationSinha, R., Garcia, M., Paliwal, P., Kreek, M. J., & Rounsaville, B. J. (2006) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archpsyc.63.3.324 · Cited by 528 · cited 2×
“…treatment, with some studies supporting this association (Anton et al., 1996; Sinha et al., 2011), some finding no association (Ahmadi et al., 2009; Dreifuss et al., 2013), and others finding associations only for particular types of craving (e.g., stress-induced craving; Sinha et al., 2006).”
BackgroundThe Obsessive Compulsive Drinking Scale
Anton, R. F. (1996) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archpsyc.1996.01830030047008 · Cited by 514 · cited 1×
“…of studies have examined whether craving at treatment entry predicts outcomes following treatment, with some studies supporting this association (Anton et al., 1996; Sinha et al., 2011), some finding no association (Ahmadi et al., 2009; Dreifuss et al., 2013), and others finding associations…”
ResultMeasuring Alcohol Consumption. Psychosocial and Biochemical Methods
Horwath, C. C. (1993) · Journal of Clinical Pathology · doi:10.1136/jcp.46.8.783-c · Cited by 440
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 101–133 of 133
Galán, S., de la Vega, R., Esteve, R., López-Martínez, A. E., Fernandez-Baena, M., & Ramírez‐Maestre, C. (2023) · Frontiers in Pain Research · doi:10.3389/fpain.2023.1269018 · Cited by 1
McAnulty, C., Bastien, G., Abboud, A., Bahremand, A., Ledjiar, O., Socias, M. E., Foll, B. L., Juteau, L.-C., & Jutras‐Aswad, D. (2025) · Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment · doi:10.1016/j.josat.2025.209743 · Cited by 1
Tai Chi Easy for Opioid Use Disorder: Pilot Feasibility Outcomes and Lessons Learned
Coffee, Z. H., Badger, T. A., Taylor‐Piliae, R. E., Vanderah, T. W., Yu, C. H., & Gordon, J. S. (2025) · Journal of Integrative and Complementary Medicine · doi:10.1177/27683605251360930 · Cited by 2
Ballard, D. H., Adams, T. G., Morey, R. A., Khanal, R., Himelhoch, S. S., & Rakesh, G. (2026) · Brain Connectivity · doi:10.1177/21580014261455379 · Cited by 1
“…and after the fi rst and fourth sessions of iTBS/sham iTBS: (1) cigarette cue attentional bias (Rakesh et al., 2023), (2) opioid cue attentional bias, (3) the Short Form version of Tobacco Craving Questionnaire (TCQ-SF) (Heishman et al., 2008), and (4) the opioid craving scale (McHugh et al., 2014).”
Parekh, T., Cuellar, A. E., Farina-Morse, M., Spencer, N., & Sutter, R. (2022) · Journal of Addictions Nursing · doi:10.1097/jan.0000000000000478 · Cited by 1
“A modified Opioid Craving Scale was used to capture cravings for the participants' primary substance of choice (McHugh et al., 2014).”
MethodKhave, L. J., Stefanovics, E. A., Potenza, M. N., & Pietrzak, R. H. (2024) · International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction · doi:10.1007/s11469-024-01412-y · Cited by 1
“…including alcohol, necessitates ongoing dedication and perseverance in confronting challenges like withdrawal, cravings, and adverse life events related to addiction, grit can be a crucial target component of treatment (McHugh et al., 2014; Mirijello et al., 2015; Sinha, 2007; Trinh et al., 2023).”
Struggling With Recovery From Opioids: Who Is at Risk During COVID-19?
Keith, D. R., Tegge, A. N., Stein, J. S., Athamneh, L. N., Craft, W. H., Chilcoat, H. D., Moigne, A. L., DeVeaugh‐Geiss, A., & Bickel, W. K. (2022) · Journal of Addiction Medicine · doi:10.1097/adm.0000000000001096 · Cited by 1
Wachholtz, A., Robinson, D. N., & Epstein, E. E. (2021) · Research Square · doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-936608/v1 · Cited by 1
You, D. S., Edwards, K. A., Ziadni, M. S., Kim, S., Klein, M. R., Cox, R., Raney, E., Kuchera, J., & Darnall, B. D. (2025) · doi:10.2196/preprints.86070 · Cited by 1
Integrating Yoga into a Medication Assisted Treatment Program to Improve Retention
Davidson, L. (2020) · University of New Hampshire Scholars Repository (University of New Hampshire at Manchester)
The Effect of Single High-dose Buprenorphine on Opioid Craving and RelapsePreprint
Ahmadi, J., SefidfardJahromi, M., Ghahremani, D. G., & London, E. D. (2019) · Research Square · doi:10.21203/rs.2.214/v2
The Effect of Single High-dose Buprenorphine on Opioid Craving and RelapsePreprint
Ahmadi, J., SefidfardJahromi, M., Ghahremani, D. G., & London, E. D. (2019) · Research Square · doi:10.21203/rs.2.214/v1
Bergeria, C. L., & Park, B. (2023) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197618431.013.10
Szlyk, H. S., Constantino-Pettit, A. M., Li, X., Kasson, E. M., Maranets, E., Worku, Y., Montayne, M., Banks, D. E., Kelly, J. C., & Cavazos‐Rehg, P. A. (2023) · Healthcare · doi:10.3390/healthcare11172392
“Current craving for opioids was assessed using three items adapted from the Cocaine Craving Scale [14].”
MethodHoughton, B., Kouimtsidis, C., Duka, D., Notley, C. J., Paloyelis, Y., & Bailey, A. (2023) · Journal of Substance Use · doi:10.1080/14659891.2023.2261128
“…attended four appointments, were given oxytocin/placebo and induced to crave heroin through exposure to a video of a man preparing and injecting heroin before measurements of opiate craving (McHugh et al., 2014) and attentional bias (Cox et al., 2006) were taken over a thirty minute period.”
Krupitsky, E. M., Akhmetova, E. A., & Георгиевна, К. С. (2025) · V M BEKHTEREV REVIEW OF PSYCHIATRY AND MEDICAL PSYCHOLOGY · doi:10.31363/2313-7053-2025-3-1114
Carmody, T. J., Mayes, T. L., Jha, M. K., SHOPTAW, S. J., & Trivedi, M. H. (2025) · Journal of Addiction Medicine · doi:10.1097/adm.0000000000001533
Ballard, D. H., Adams, T. G., Morey, R. A., Khanal, R., Himelhoch, S. S., & Rakesh, G. (2025) · medRxiv · doi:10.1101/2025.09.10.25335485
Buprenorphine treatment during the extended postpartum period: a survey of patient experiences
Galati, B. M., Jacobsen, H. A., Krauss, M., Mills, M., Vaughn, B., Williams, S., Wenzinger, M., Rogers, C. E., Raghuraman, N., & Kelly, J. C. (2025) · The Journal of Maternal-Fetal & Neonatal Medicine · doi:10.1080/14767058.2025.2578576
“Individuals upon presentation to the clinic participated in a brief electronic questionnaire comprised of multiple choice, Likert scale and open-ended questions adapted from validated surveys [8–10].”
Strigo, I. A., Toor, T., Spadoni, A. D., Palyo, S. A., Librodo, S., & Simmons, A. N. (2025) · Military Medicine · doi:10.1093/milmed/usaf550
McClain, N. E., Ceceli, A. O., Drury, K., Kronberg, G., Garland, E. L., Nelly Alia-klein, A., & Goldstein, R. Z. (2025) · Biological Psychiatry Global Open Science · doi:10.1016/j.bpsgos.2025.100667 · Cited by 4
“This result stands in contrast to previous findings where craving predicted outcomes such as drug use and relapse (10,11,62), largely in studies involving actively using or early-abstinent populations and shorter follow-up intervals.”
Witcraft, S. M., Holcomb, L. A., Wei, Y., Cochran, G., Winhusen, T. M., Lofwall, M. R., Martin, P. R., Young, J. L., Spinali, J., & Guille, C. (2026) · Substance Use & Addiction Journal · doi:10.1177/29767342251390075
Harvanek, Z. M., Mignosa, M. M., Kitaneh, R., Oliva, H. N. P., Borelli, A., DAUGINIKAS, E., Fogelman, N., Sakmar, E., Taylor, J., Dileone, R., et al. (2026) · Drug and Alcohol Dependence · doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2026.113041
Pericot‐Valverde, I., Heo, M., Byrne, K. A., Karasz, A., Perez, A., Lopes, S. S., Groome, M., Voss, S., King, A., Barnick, K., et al. (2026) · Contemporary Clinical Trials · doi:10.1016/j.cct.2026.108226
“[ 35–37] Self-report outcomes include craving and coping skills using the 3-item Opioid Craving Scale [38] and the Coping Strategies Scale.”
You, D. S., Edwards, K. A., Ziadni, M. S., Kim, S., Klein, M. R., Cox, R., Raney, E., Kuchera, J., & Darnall, B. D. (2026) · JMIR Formative Research · doi:10.2196/86070
“Additionally, current craving intensity was assessed on a 0 (not at all) to 10 (extremely) scale [51].”
Geretsegger, M., Meling, H. M., Savinova, A., Aßmus, J., Dy, C. L., Mydland, T. S., Dybdahl, K., Johansen, B., Koelsch, S., Malerbakken, A., et al. (2026) · medRxiv · doi:10.64898/2026.02.19.26346573
Evonko, C. J., Vigilante, K., Leli, N. B., Pond, R. S., Chaney, M. W., Ludington, J. D., Leuven, E. G. V., Washington, W. D., & MacQueen, D. A. (2026) · Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment · doi:10.1016/j.josat.2026.209927
“Opioid craving was assessed using the Opiate Craving Scale (OCS), a brief, three item measure (McHugh et al., 2014).”
InfluentialChen, Q., Du, J., Yao, Z., Li, M. D., Jr., Liu, H., Cheng, Y., Guo, Y., Yang, Y., Chen, X., & Mi, H. (2026) · CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems · doi:10.1145/3772318.3790574
Mojtabai, R., Susukida, R., Farokhnia, M., Nguyen, T. Q., Leggio, L., Bergeria, C. L., Prasad, S., Dunn, K. E., & Amin‐Esmaeili, M. (2026) · medRxiv · doi:10.64898/2026.05.09.26352807
Mojtabai, R., Susukida, R., Farokhnia, M., Nguyen, T. Q., Leggio, L., Bergeria, C. L., Prasad, S., Dunn, K. E., & Amin‐Esmaeili, M. (2026) · Journal of Psychopharmacology · doi:10.1177/02698811261464533
McCrae, C. S., Curtis, A. F., Stearns, M. A., Craggs, J. G., Wilson, J., Henderson, H., Popoola, O., Holland, B., & Miller, M. B. (2026) · Behavioral Sleep Medicine · doi:10.1080/15402002.2026.2685151
Gagnon, K. W., Baldwin, M., Alnashri, Y., Jaiswal, J., Cropsey, K. L., & Eaton, E. (2026) · Addiction Science & Clinical Practice · doi:10.1186/s13722-026-00700-3
“Specifically, Three scales were identified that were specific to craving: (1) Obsessive-Compulsive Opiate Craving Scale [50], (2) Opioid Craving Scale [51, 52], and (3) Opioid Craving Visual Analog Scale [53].”
Ellis, M. S., Sharma, R., Ayres, K., Stone, J. W., & Buttram, M. E. (2026) · Journal of Addiction Medicine · doi:10.1097/adm.0000000000001766
Metadata
- Authors
- McHugh, R. K., Fitzmaurice, G. M., Carroll, K. M., Griffin, M. L., Hill, K. P., Wasan, A. D., & Weiss, R. D.
- Affiliations
- Harvard University (US)
- Yale University (US)
- University of Pittsburgh (US)
- ORCID
- Venue
- Drug and Alcohol Dependence
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2014-12
- Volume
- 145
- Pages
- 121-126
- ISSN
- 0376-8716 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC4254575
- OpenAlex
- W1967066293
- Cited by
- 133
- References
- 41
- Citations by year
- 2026: 14 · 2025: 16 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 15 · 2022: 17 · 2021: 16 · 2020: 16 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 6
- FWCI
- 3.65
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Drug and Alcohol Dependence (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute on Drug Abuse (R00DA029115, K24DA022288, K99/R00 DA029115, U10DA015831, K23DA035297)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Opioid Use Disorder Treatment
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine › Pain Management and Opioid Use
- Keywords
- craving, prescription opioid dependence, recurrence prediction, cue-induced craving, opioid use, addiction treatment
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Analgesics, Opioid, Heroin, Female, Humans, Male, Narcotic Antagonists, Opioid-Related Disorders, Drug Prescriptions, Substance Abuse Treatment Centers, Young Adult, Self Report, Craving
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review