ABSTRACT
Sleep duration and indices of disturbed sleep, such as night-time waking and day-time sleep, were investigated in amphetamine users following hospital admission and withdrawal from the drug. Compared to controls, the amphetamine group showed an initial period of oversleeping and, towards the end of the first week, they showed a considerable degree of reduced sleep which persisted for the 20 days of this study. There was greater variability in sleep duration within the amphetamine group on almost all nights, and the variability in sleep duration from one night to the next was also greater. More night-time sleep disturbance was evident among the amphetamine ex-users. These results are discussed with respect to previous work and the pattern is seen to be more complex than had been imagined. A tentative neurochemical model is suggested and clinical implications are considered.
Subject(s)
Amphetamines/adverse effects , Sleep Wake Disorders/chemically induced , Substance Withdrawal Syndrome , Adult , Brain/metabolism , Female , Humans , Male , Norepinephrine/metabolismSubject(s)
Substance-Related Disorders/psychology , Adolescent , Adult , Female , Humans , Male , Personality Assessment , Sex FactorsSubject(s)
Heroin Dependence/psychology , Self Concept , Adult , Age Factors , Female , Humans , Male , Marriage , Middle Aged , Sex Factors , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
In an investigation of personality differences between oral and intravenous drug addicts, 59 subjects attending a London clinic were given the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. Both groups scored highly on the neuroticism and psychoticism dimensions, though oral users were found to have significantly higher scores on both of these scales. High P scorers have been found to be cold, unfriendly, hostile, etc., and it is suggested that the lower P scores of the intravenous users may be partly due to possible hostility-reducing effects of the narcotics used by this group. Other implications of these findings are also discussed.
Subject(s)
Personality , Psychotropic Drugs/administration & dosage , Substance-Related Disorders/pathology , Administration, Oral , Extraversion, Psychological , Female , Humans , Injections, Intravenous , Male , Neurotic Disorders/complications , Psychotic Disorders/complications , Sex FactorsSubject(s)
Attitude of Health Personnel , Hospital Administration , Hospitals, Psychiatric , Mental Disorders , Personnel, Hospital , Aggression , Female , Hospitalization , Humans , London , MaleABSTRACT
Their own accounts of their use of drugs, together with a detailed description of psychiatric history and present mental state, were obtained from a sample of institutionalized delinquents, Subjects reporting extensive involvement in drug abuse were found to be disturbed on a number of psychiatric variables; however, those reporting some limited abuse were less disturbed than subjects reporting no experience of drug taking. The results and their implications are discussed.
Subject(s)
Child, Institutionalized , Juvenile Delinquency , Neurotic Disorders/epidemiology , Substance-Related Disorders/epidemiology , Adolescent , Adult , Anxiety/epidemiology , Depression/epidemiology , England , Humans , Male , Mental Status Schedule , Psychological Tests , Sleep Wake Disorders/epidemiologyABSTRACT
Although a number of studies have suggested that hostility and drug dependence may be related, there are few systematic studies of this issue. Using the Hostility and Direction of Hostility Questionnaire, the present study compares several drug-dependent groups of patients. Results showed that the intravenous in-patient group was more hostile on several variables than their out-patient counterparts, and also more hostile than an oral in-patient group. Barbiturate abusers were found to have high levels of hostility; amphetamine abusers were the least hostile group, and narcotic dependent patients were intermediate between the two. Correlations between scales of the HDHQ were all positive, and most were both high and statistically significant, suggesting that hostility represents a relatively generalized trait in drug-dependent subjects. The results are discussed both in terms of patient selection factors--the differential pressures on different types of patients, and in terms of direct drug effects. It is suggested that the hostility of drug-dependent patients may represent an important problem of personal functioning and may require special attention in treatment programmes.
Subject(s)
Hostility , Psychotropic Drugs/administration & dosage , Substance-Related Disorders/complications , Acting Out , Administration, Oral , Adult , Amphetamines , Delusions/etiology , Female , Guilt , Heroin Dependence/complications , Hospitalization , Humans , Injections, Intravenous , Male , Methadone , Morphine Dependence/complications , Psychiatric Status Rating Scales , Self Concept , Sex Ratio , Social PerceptionABSTRACT
Patients dependent upon orally abused drugs have received less research attention than have other drug dependent groups. This paper reports a study of the intellectual characteristics of such individuals. Fifty-eight subjects completed the Mill Hill and Progressive Matrices IQ tests, and the Wechsler Tests (WAIS or WISC) were also administered to 36 of these. The results which were analysed separately for males and females show scores which are within the normal range. One unusual finding, that female oral drug dependents have a deficient performance IQ score, is discussed, but no satisfactory explanation for this available and further research of this issue is suggested. The implications of the results for clinical psychological assessment and rehabilitation of drug abusers are discussed.
