Awareness of Substance Abuse Problems Among Dually-Diagnosed Psychiatric Inpatients

Abstract. Aim: This study investigates the characteristics of older patients with substance abuse disorders admitted to a psychiatric department serving about 250.000 inhabitants. Methods: The clinical diagnoses were made according to ICD-10. The data of the patients with substance abuse were compared to a matched sample of psychiatric inpatients without substance abuse as well as to a group of former substance abusers with long-term abstinence. Results: 19.3 % of the 941 patients aged > 65 years showed current substance abuse, 9.4 % consumed alcohol, 7.9 % took benzodiazepines or z-drugs (zolpidem and zopiclone), and 7.0 % smoked tobacco. Multiple substance abuse was rather common (30.8 %). About 85 % of the substance abusers had psychiatric comorbidity, and about 30 % showed severe withdrawal symptoms. As with the rest of the patients, somatic multimorbidity was present in about 70 % of the substance abusers. Remarkable was the lower rate of dementia in current substance abusers. Conclusion: These results underscore that substance abuse is still a challenge in the psychiatric inpatient treatment of older people.

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Evaluation of Adolescent Offenders with Substance Abuse

Criminal Justice and Behavior ◽

10.1177/0093854897024001007 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 24 (1) ◽

pp. 114-128 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

RICHARD ROGERS ◽

MARY LOUISE CASHEL ◽

JOHN JOHANSEN ◽

KENNETH W. SEWELL ◽

CHRISTINE GONZALEZ

Keyword(s):

Substance Abuse ◽

Drug Users ◽

False Positives ◽

Current Investigation ◽

Adolescent Offenders ◽

Dually Diagnosed ◽

Chemically Dependent

The adolescent version of the Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory (SASSI-A; Miller, 1990) was developed to assess unacknowledged substance abuse. Despite its widespread use in clinical and forensic settings, the SASSI-A has not been cross-validated. The current investigation examined its effectiveness in classifying 317 adolescent offenders on a unit of dually diagnosed inpatients. Although the sample was limited in its number of nonusers, the SASSI-A had an unacceptably high number of false positives (68.4%) but was moderately effective at classifying nonadmitting alcohol and drug users (75.6%). As evidence of criterion-related validity, elevations on the SASSI-A scales had low to moderate correlations with interview-based data on impairment related to substance abuse. However, its scales appeared to be significantly affected by ethnicity, even when level of impairment was a covariate. It appears, then, that the SASSI-A (a) should not be employed to classify adolescents as chemically dependent and (b) has a circumscribed role in screening for suspected substance abuse.

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Living it or Learning It: Attitudes and Beliefs about Experience and Expertise in Treatment for the Dually Diagnosed

Contemporary Drug Problems ◽

10.1177/009145090202900403 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 29 (4) ◽

pp. 687-710 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Alison Hamilton Brown ◽

Christine E. Grella ◽

Leslie Cooper

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Substance Abuse ◽

Los Angeles ◽

Mental Health Treatment ◽

Attitudes And Beliefs ◽

Dually Diagnosed ◽

Treatment Providers ◽

Academic Knowledge ◽

Abuse Treatment ◽

Provision Of Care

This article examines mental health and substance abuse treatment providers' attitudes and beliefs regarding the relative values of academic knowledge and experiential knowledge. These two forms of “knowing” increasingly come into conflict as providers from the two service systems work together to provide services to individuals with co-occurring disorders. Data to address this issue were obtained from seven focus groups conducted with 48 substance abuse and mental health treatment providers and stakeholders in Los Angeles County. Findings suggest the tenuous role of experience-based knowledge within the emergent framework of dual diagnosis treatment and its emphasis on the professionalization of providers. The article raises concerns as to how differing, and often competing, treatment approaches affect the provision of care for this population and questions how these tensions will be resolved within efforts to increase collaboration between the two systems in providing services to dually diagnosed patients.

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Association of Substance Abuse and Depression among Adolescent Psychiatric Inpatients

The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.1177/070674370304801109 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 48 (11) ◽

pp. 762-765 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

Carla Kmett Danielson ◽

James C Overholser ◽

Zeeshan A Butt

Keyword(s):

Substance Abuse ◽

Psychiatric Inpatients

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Risperidone Decreases Craving and Relapses in Individuals with Schizophrenia and Cocaine Dependence

The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.1177/070674370204700710 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 47 (7) ◽

pp. 671-675 ◽

Cited By ~ 69

Author(s):

David A Smelson ◽

Miklos F Losonczy ◽

Craig W Davis ◽

Maureen Kaune ◽

John Williams ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Substance Abuse ◽

Cocaine Dependence ◽

Future Research ◽

Atypical Neuroleptics ◽

Dually Diagnosed ◽

Open Label ◽

Double Blind ◽

Double Blind Placebo ◽

Study Completion ◽

Typical Neuroleptics

Objective: To examine the efficacy of atypical neuroleptics for decreasing craving and drug relapses during protracted withdrawal in individuals dually diagnosed with schizophrenia and cocaine dependence. Method: We conducted a 6-week, open-label pilot study comparing risperidone with typical neuroleptics in a sample of withdrawn cocaine-dependent schizophrenia patients. Results: Preliminary results suggest that individuals treated with risperidone had significantly less cue-elicited craving and substance abuse relapses at study completion. Further, they showed a trend toward a greater reduction in negative and global symptoms of schizophrenia. Conclusion: Atypical neuroleptics may help reduce craving and relapses in this population. Future research should include more rigorous double-blind placebo-controlled studies with this class of medications.

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Dual Diagnosis: Does Race Affect Vocational Rehabilitation Outcomes?

Journal of Applied Rehabilitation Counseling ◽

10.1891/0047-2220.39.3.19 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 39 (3) ◽

pp. 19-24 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Mona Robinson ◽

Michael Klein

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Substance Abuse ◽

Vocational Rehabilitation ◽

Dual Diagnosis ◽

Dually Diagnosed ◽

Chi Square ◽

Rehabilitation Outcomes ◽

College Training ◽

Substance Abuse Disorders

The study examined vocational rehabilitation outcomes of persons who were dually diagnosed with mental health and substance abuse disorders. The study sought to examine whether differences existed in vocational rehabilitation outcomes based upon the individuals' race by examining the 2002 RSA-911 database containing successful and unsuccessful closures (status 26 and 28). MANOVA and Chi-square analyses showed that minorities earned lower wages and received less college training than their non-minority counterparts. The results of the study indicated that statistically significant differences existed in vocational rehabilitation outcomes for individuals who are dually diagnosed, with minorities faring worse than their non-minority counterparts.

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