Leeds Dependency Questionnaire (LDQ)

The Leeds Dependence Questionnaire (LDQ; Raistrick et al., 1994) is a 10-item questionnaire, designed to screen psychological dependence to a variety of different substances. The LDQ was designed to be sensitive to change over time and to range from mild to severe dependence (Raistirck et al.,1994).

The measure is designed to evaluate 10 markers of substance and/or alcohol dependence, the 10 items map on to the ICD-10 and DSM-IV criteria for substance dependence which include: pre-occupation with the substance, the primacy of activities associated with the substance over other activities, the perceived compulsion to continue using the substance, the way in which the user’s day is planned around procuring and using the substance, attempts to maximise the effect of the substance, the narrowing of the substance use repertoire, the perceived need to continue using the substance in order to maintain effect, the primacy of the pharmacological effect of the substance over any of its other attributes, the maintenance of the substance induced state, and the belief that the substance has become essential to the user’s existence (Kelly, Magill, Slaymaker & Kahler, 2010).

Items are scored on a 4-point scale from 0 “Never” to 3 “Nearly Always” with higher total scores (maximum score of 30) indicating greater dependence. Analysis of the measure has shown it to have high internal consistency (alpha = .94), good test-retest reliability (r = .95) and has been shown to be a valid, psychometrically sound measure of substance dependence for alcohol and opiates (Raistrick et al., 1994). The LDQ has also been suggested as an appropriate measure for use with inpatient psychiatric populations (Ford, 2003) and in evaluating the effectiveness of substance disorder treatments in adults with substance dependency (Tober, Brearley, Kenyon, Raistick & Morley, 2000).

This measure was completed by service users pre and post programme participation.