Pre-treatment measures of impulsivity, aggression and sensation seeking are associated with treatment outcome for African-American cocaine-dependent patients.

Authors

• Ashwin A Patkar
• Heather W Murray
• Paolo Mannelli
• Edward Gottheil
• Stephen P Weinstein
• Michael J Vergare

Publication/Presentation Date

1-1-2004

Abstract

We investigated whether measures of impulsivity, aggression and sensation seeking differed between cocaine-dependent subjects and controls, and whether these measures were related to treatment-outcome for cocaine patients. Pre-treatment assessments of impulsivity (Barratt Impulsivity Scale [BIS]), aggression (Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory [BDHI]) and sensation seeking (Zuckerman Sensation Seeking Scale [SSS]) were obtained for 141 African-American cocaine-dependent patients entering a 12-week, intensive outpatient treatment program and 60 controls. The outcome measures were number of negative urine drug screens, days in treatment, dropout rates and number of treatment sessions. Cocaine patients reported significantly higher scores on the SSS, the BIS and the BDHI than controls. Furthermore, the SSS scores showed a significantly negative correlation with days in treatment and negative urines, and a significant positive correlation with the dropout rate. The BIS and the BDHI scores were significantly associated with days in treatment and dropout rates respectively. A combination of the three variables contributed significantly toward predicting retention and abstinence. Higher levels of pretreatment impulsivity and aggression and sensation seeking seem to associated with poor treatment outcome for cocaine dependent patients receiving intensive outpatient treatment. Combining these behavioral measures with other clinical predictors may help in early identification of 'poor responders' who may benefit from additional or alternative treatment approaches.

Volume

23

Issue

2

First Page

109

Last Page

122

ISSN

1055-0887

Published In/Presented At

Patkar, A. A., Murray, H. W., Mannelli, P., Gottheil, E., Weinstein, S. P., & Vergare, M. J. (2004). Pre-treatment measures of impulsivity, aggression and sensation seeking are associated with treatment outcome for African-American cocaine-dependent patients. Journal of addictive diseases, 23(2), 109–122. https://doi.org/10.1300/J069v23n02_08

Disciplines

Business Administration, Management, and Operations | Health and Medical Administration | Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods

PubMedID

15132346

Department(s)

Administration and Leadership

Document Type

Article