Reduction of psychopathology among individuals participating in non-treatment drug abuse residential studies.
The psychological repercussions in drug abusing individuals of their participation in non-treatment residential drug abuse research protocols have been uncertain. To study this, the average raw scores of the Symptom-Check List-90 Revised (SCL-90R) at the time of recruiting and discharge (40.2 +/- 15.6 days later) was studied at the Addiction Research Center of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA-ARC), in Baltimore, Maryland, in a sample of 233 drug abusers seeking no treatment. There was significant reduction in symptomatology (p < .01) between recruiting and discharge for Obsessive-Compulsive, Interpersonal Sensitivity, Depression, Phobic Anxiety, Paranoid Ideation, Psychoticism, and Total Scores. These findings suggest that participation of drug abusers in non-treatment residential studies is safe and may improve their psychological status, which may be a therapeutic outcome of disengaging individuals from their drug environment and offering a safe and structured milieu.
Montoya
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National Institute of Drug Abuse, Addiction Research Center, Baltimore, MD 21224.
Haertzen
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D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D010343:Patient Admission; D010351:Patient Discharge; D012112:Residential Facilities; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation