Personality measures in former heroin users receiving methadone or in protracted abstinence from opiates

Objective:  Methadone Maintenance Therapy (MMT) and detoxification to abstinence are among the most common treatment options for opiate‐dependent patients. This paper compares personality traits in detoxified former heroin users and those on MMT in order to assess their relevance to treatment select...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica 2005-08, Vol.112 (2), p.149-158
Main Authors: Cohen, L. J., Gertmenian-King, E., Kunik, L., Weaver, C., London, E. D., Galynker, I.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
addiction
Addictions
Addictive behaviors
Adult
Adult and adolescent clinical studies
Analgesics, Opioid - therapeutic use
Analysis of Variance
Behavior - physiology
Biological and medical sciences
Drug abuse
Drug addiction
Female
Heroin
Heroin Dependence - psychology
Heroin Dependence - rehabilitation
Humans
Male
Medical sciences
Methadone
Methadone - therapeutic use
Narcotics
opiates
Opioid-Related Disorders - psychology
Opioid-Related Disorders - rehabilitation
personality
Personality disorders
Personality Disorders - diagnosis
Personality Inventory - statistics & numerical data
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Reference Values
Schizophrenia
substance abuse
Time Factors
Withholding Treatment - statistics & numerical data
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Summary:Objective:  Methadone Maintenance Therapy (MMT) and detoxification to abstinence are among the most common treatment options for opiate‐dependent patients. This paper compares personality traits in detoxified former heroin users and those on MMT in order to assess their relevance to treatment selection. Method:  Twenty‐six formerly heroin‐dependent subjects receiving MMT (MM), 33 formerly heroin‐dependent subjects withdrawn from MMT (MW), and 43 healthy controls were compared on the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory‐II (MCMI‐II) and the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). Results:  On the TCI, MM patients had higher novelty seeking and lower self‐directedness scores than controls. Both MM and MW subjects scored higher than controls on multiple MCMI‐II scales. MW but not MM subjects scored higher than controls on two Cluster A Scales and the delusional disorder scale. Conclusion:  Schizophrenia‐spectrum pathology in former opiate users may be greater than previously recognized and could potentially be relevant to treatment selection.
ISSN:0001-690X
1600-0447
DOI:10.1111/j.1600-0447.2005.00546.x