If craving demonstrates utility in latent variable analyses, then demonstrating concurrent validity is an additional step towards demonstrating benefit from adding craving to the alcohol disorder criteria. One way to demonstrate concurrent validity is to examine the correlates of craving among those with a DSM-IV alcohol disorder. If craving validly represents the construct of interest (having an alcohol disorder), it should be correlated with known risk factors for alcohol disorder. Another way to demonstrate concurrent validity is to construct alternative versions of the diagnosis, with and without craving, and test the associations of these two versions with known risk factors. If craving is a valid indicator of an alcohol disorder, known risk factors should remain associated with the diagnosis once craving is included; further, craving should demonstrate improvement by strengthening the associations.
