Among long-term crack smokers, who avoids and who succumbs to cocaine addiction?

• Published in: Drug and alcohol dependence 2008-11, Vol.98 (1), p.24-29
• Main Authors: Falck, Russel S, Wang, Jichuan, Carlson, Robert G
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Addiction; Addictive behaviors; Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Alcoholism - diagnosis; Alcoholism - epidemiology; Alcoholism - psychology; Antisocial Personality Disorder - diagnosis; Antisocial Personality Disorder - epidemiology; Antisocial Personality Disorder - psychology; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - diagnosis; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - epidemiology; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - psychology; Biological and medical sciences; Black or African American; Black People - statistics & numerical data; Cocaine-Related Disorders - diagnosis; Cocaine-Related Disorders - epidemiology; Cocaine-Related Disorders - ethnology; Cocaine-Related Disorders - psychology; Comorbidity; Crack; Crack Cocaine; Cross-Sectional Studies; Dependence; Drug addiction; Female; Humans; Illicit Drugs; Long term users; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Medical sciences; Ohio; Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Race/ethnicity; Racial differences; Risk Factors; Substance abuse; Substance dependency; Substance-Related Disorders - diagnosis; Substance-Related Disorders - epidemiology; Substance-Related Disorders - psychology; White People - statistics & numerical data
• ISSN: 0376-8716; 1879-0046
• DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2008.04.004

Abstract Crack cocaine is a highly addictive drug. To learn more about crack addiction, long-term crack smokers who had never met the DSM-IV criteria for lifetime cocaine dependence were compared with those who had. The study sample consisted of crack users ( n = 172) from the Dayton, Ohio, area who were interviewed periodically over 8 years. Data were collected on a range of variables including age of crack initiation, frequency of recent use, and lifetime cocaine dependence. Cocaine dependence was common with 62.8% of the sample having experienced it. There were no statistically significant differences between dependent and non-dependent users for age of crack initiation or frequency of crack use. In terms of sociodemographics, only race/ethnicity was significant, with proportionally fewer African-Americans than whites meeting the criteria for cocaine dependence. Controlling for sociodemographics, partial correlation analysis showed positive, statistically significant relationships between lifetime cocaine dependence and anti-social personality disorder, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and lifetime dependence on alcohol, cannabis, amphetamine, sedative-hypnotics, and opioids. These results highlight the importance addressing race/ethnicity and comorbid disorders when developing, implementing, and evaluating interventions targeting people who use crack cocaine. Additional research is needed to better understand the role of race/ethnicity in the development of cocaine dependence resulting from crack use.