Drug Stroop performance: relationships with primary substance of use and treatment outcome in a drug-dependent outpatient sample.
A modified Stroop protocol was administered to a sample of 80 dependent drug users (62 males, 18 females) prior to beginning a time-limited outpatient treatment study combining pharmacotherapy and cognitive-behavioral coping skills therapy for cocaine, marijuana, or heroin dependence. Results indicated that cocaine-dependent participants responded more slowly than marijuana-dependent participants to all stimulus words. Cocaine words yielded slower reaction times than neutral words across all treatment groups. The heroin- and cocaine-dependent groups' overall performance did not differ. There was no treatment group by drug word interaction. For cocaine-dependent participants, Stroop performance in the presence of cocaine stimuli was associated with worse treatment outcome. In conclusion, Stroop performance may have prognostic utility among drug-dependent patients in a cognitive-behavioral coping skills intervention and may highlight the mechanisms associated with changing substance use in this treatment modality.
Carpenter
Kenneth M
KM
The New York State Psychiatric Institute, Division on Substance Abuse, and Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, Department of Psychiatry, NY 10032, USA. carpent@pi.cpmc.columbia.edi
Schreiber
Elizabeth
E
Church
Sarah
S
McDowell
David
D
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003118:Color Perception; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D011581:Psychological Tests; D011930:Reaction Time; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D013404:Suggestion