Validation of the Obsessive Compulsive Drug Use Scale (OCDUS) Among Male Heroin Addicts in China

Rigorous validation of the popular obsessive compulsive drug use scale (OCDUS) has been sparse, while the lack of valid and reliable measurement scales continues to be an obstacle to the study and control of heroin addiction in China. Based on data from 295 randomly-selected male Chinese heroin addicts, we examined the psychometric properties of the OCDUS in this population and the correlations of the OCDUS scores with key epidemiological characteristics. In the course of this analysis, one item was eliminated as the result of low test-retest reliability. Factor analysis on the remaining twelve items identified a 3-dimensional factor structure, which was similar to the original. These domains showed adequate reliability, with Cronbach’s α as 0.82, 0.81, and 0.66. The OCDUS scores were correlated with age, age of first heroin use, length of drug use, marriage, and primary route of administration. These findings suggest that the adapted OCDUS will prove to be a valid and reliable measure of heroin addiction among Chinese male addicts.