Neuropsychological functioning in substance-dependent patients

The present study examined neurocognitive functioning in groups of individuals addicted to various psychoactive substances. One hundred ten patients admitted to treatment for substance misuse were assessed using a semistructured clinical interview, the Beck Depression Inventory, the Symptom CheckList-90, the Trail Making A and B tests, and the Shipley Institute of Living Scale. Results revealed that at intake, alcohol- and benzodiazepine-addicted clients exhibited higher levels of cognitive impairment and psychological distress than patients dependent on other drugs. Regression analysis showed that the Shipley vocabulary raw score was a significant predictor of length of stay in treatment.