Objectives: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has been shown to be prevalent in individuals with Substance Use Disorders (SUD). The current study aimed to investigate the factors associated with comorbid PTSD-SUD and to identify any differences between groups of individuals with PTSD-SUD and those with SUD only. Methodology: Thirty participants were recruited from community services for injecting drug users. All participants completed: The Maudsley Addiction Profile (MAP) to give measures of physical and psychological health problems, risk of blood bome vims (BBV) infection, and interpersonal conflict; The Leeds Dependence Questionnaire (LDQ) to measure severity of drug dependence; and the Posttraumatic Stress Diagnostic Scale (PDS) to determine the severity of trauma symptomatology. Comparisons were made between participants who met full diagnostic criteria for PTSD (A=19) and those who did not (N=11). Results: Severity of drug dependence was positively correlated with trauma symptomatology and with the number of traumatic events experienced. The comorbid PTSD-SUD group had higher rates of psychological health problems and BBV risk than those with SUD only. There was no difference in rates of interpersonal conflict and a trend towards an association with physical health problems. Conclusions: Presence of PTSD is associated with higher rates of dependence, psychological distress, and risk of acquiring a blood borne virus amongst injecting drug users. Comorbid PTSD-SUD has been shown to negatively impact on treatment outcomes in individuals with substance use disorders. These findings therefore support the need for integrated treatment models for PTSD-SUD in order to effectively meet UK service delivery objectives.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:726438 |
| Date | January 2010 |
| Creators | Leeming, Penny Jane |
| Publisher | University of Edinburgh |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://hdl.handle.net/1842/24815 |
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