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Drug-use behavior and correlates in people with schizophrenia
J S Gearon1, A S Bellack, J Rachbeisel
1University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA. jgearon@umaryland.edu
Addictive Behaviors
|February 24, 2001
Summary
Schizophrenia patients often finance drug use through family and use substances socially. Emotional abuse uniquely correlated with substance use in schizophrenia patients, unlike those with affective disorders.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Psychology
- Substance Use Disorders
Background:
- Schizophrenia and substance use disorders frequently co-occur.
- Understanding the relationship between abuse history and substance use in schizophrenia is crucial for effective treatment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate substance access, usage reasons, abuse prevalence, and psychiatric factors in schizophrenia outpatients.
- To compare these factors with substance-abusing outpatients with major affective disorders and individuals with schizophrenia alone.
Main Methods:
- Comparative study design involving three patient groups: schizophrenia with substance use, substance-abusing affective disorder patients, and schizophrenia alone.
- Data collection on drug access, reasons for use, history of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, psychiatric symptoms, and functioning levels.
Main Results:
- Patients with schizophrenia primarily financed drug habits via family support and used drugs for social reasons.
- All groups reported high rates of abuse; however, a link between emotional abuse and substance use was specific to the schizophrenia group.
- No significant differences in psychiatric symptoms or functioning were found between the two schizophrenia cohorts.
Conclusions:
- Family financial support plays a role in enabling substance use among schizophrenia patients.
- Emotional abuse is a significant correlate of substance use specifically within the schizophrenia population.
- Findings underscore the need for integrated treatment approaches addressing both psychosis and substance use, considering trauma history.
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