Psychosocial Functioning of People with Substance Abuse and Bipolar Disorders.
This study assessed whether a secondary diagnosis of a substance use disorder in hospitalized people with bipolar disorder was associated with poorer outcomes on self-reported measures of mood (Profile of Mood States), subjective distress (Behavior and Symptom Identification Scale), and coping resources (Coping Resources Inventory), and with specific patient characteristics. Sixty-two patients with bipolar disorder and a secondary diagnosis of a substance use disorder and 60 patients with only a bipolar disorder diagnosis participated. Patients with bipolar disorder and a secondary diagnosis of a substance use disorder perceived significantly more impairment on all three measures than did patients without the secondary diagnosis. Moreover, the background characteristics of a history of violence, past or current involvement with the criminal justice system, and not having an antipsychotic medication prescribed during hospitalization had the strongest association with having a secondary diagnosis of a substance use disorder among the characteristics examined. These findings suggest the existence of a subgroup of patients with substance abuse and bipolar disorders who have substantial psychosocial impairment and probably require more intense treatment.
Pollack
Linda E.
LE
University of Texas-Houston Health Science Center, School of Nursing, Houston, Texas.
Cramer
Roxy D.
RD
Varner
Roy V.
RV