Examining the factor structure of the Clinical Opiate Withdrawal Scale: A secondary data analysis from the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network (CTN) 0003
Examining the factor structure of the Clinical Opiate Withdrawal Scale: A secondary data analysis from the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network (CTN) 0003
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DOI：
10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2015.03.036
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发表时间：
2015-07-01
影响因子：
4.2
通讯作者：
Ling, Walter
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Barbosa-Leiker, Celestina;McPherson, Sterling;Ling, Walter
Background: The Clinical Opiate Withdrawal Scale (COWS) is used to assess withdrawal in clinical trials and practice. The aims of this study were to examine the inter-item correlations and factor structure of the COWS in opioid-dependent men and women.Methods: This is a secondary data analysis of the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network 0003, a randomized clinical trial that compared buprenorphine/naloxone tapering strategies. The trial included 11 sites in 10 US cities. Participants were opioid-dependent individuals (n =516) that had data on the COWS. The COWS at study baseline was analyzed in this study.Results: Inter-item correlations showed weak to moderate relationships among the items. A 1-factor model did not fit the data for men (comparative fit index (CFI) =.801, root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA)=.073, weighted root mean square residual (WRMR) = 1.132) or women (CFI.694, RMSEA =.071, WRMR=.933), where resting pulse rate was not related to withdrawal for men, and yawning and gooseflesh skin was not related to withdrawal for women. A reduced model comprised of only the 8 items that were significantly related to the construct of withdrawal in both men and women, and an exploratory 2-factor model, were also assessed but not retained due to inconsistencies across gender.Conclusions: When traditional psychometric models are applied to the COWS, it appears that the scale may not relate to a single underlying construct of withdrawal. Further research testing the hypothesized factor structure in other opioid-dependent samples is needed. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
