Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the CCQ-Brief in Moroccan Arabic: A psychometric study.

INTRODUCTION: Craving is a fundamental clinical dimension of cocaine use disorders and plays a major role in the maintenance of dependence and the occurrence of relapse. Despite its clinical relevance, no validated instrument was available in Moroccan Arabic specifically designed to assess cocaine craving. This study aimed to adapt and validate the Cocaine Craving Questionnaire - Brief (CCQ-Brief) in Moroccan Arabic. METHODS: The scale was translated using the round-trip translation procedure, followed by expert review and preliminary testing. Psychometric properties were reviewed in a cross-sectional study including patients with cocaine use disorder. Acceptability, internal consistency, convergent validity, inter-rater reliability, and test-retest reliability were assessed. Convergent validity was examined using the craving intensity subscale of the Voris Cocaine Craving Scale (VCCS). RESULTS: Sixty participants were included. The scale showed high acceptability, with no missing data and a short response time. Internal consistency was high (Cronbach's α=0.87). A strong correlation with the VCCS-Craving intensity (r=0.968) confirmed convergent validity. Reproducibility indices were excellent, with an inter-rater ICC of 0.98 and a test-retest ICC of 0.95. Limited floor and ceiling effects were observed for some items. CONCLUSION: The Moroccan Arabic version of the CCQ-Brief shows good psychometric properties, making it a reliable, simple, and culturally appropriate tool for assessing cocaine craving in clinical practice and academic research.