[Psychopathological heterogeneity in opium drug addicts]

The aim of the study was to assess the presence and nature of psychiatric disorders in opium drug addicts. One hundred and six subjects receiving treatment at the CMAS in Cagliari were included in the study. Hathawai and McKinley's MMPI test was preventively carried out on all subjects; each drug addict was then interviewed three times in the space of three weeks in order to formulate a diagnosis in line with DSM III R criteria. The results obtained show a high incidence of psychopathological disorders which are not included among those caused by drug abuse, and a high degree of diagnostic heterogeneity on both axis I and axis II. The comparative assessment of three subsamples undergoing different phases of treatment reveals both qualitative and quantitative differences.