Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 17, 2026

Handwriting Analysis Indicates Spontaneous Dyskinesias in Neuroleptic Naïve Adolescents at High Risk for Psychosis
Published on: November 21, 2013
Psychiatric distress, risk behavior, and treatment enrollment among syringe exchange participants
Michael Kidorf1, Van L King, Jessica Peirce
1Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Addiction Treatment Services-BBRC, Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, 5510 Nathan Shock Drive, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA.
Abstract:
The present study evaluated psychiatric distress as a predictor of treatment enrollment in out-of-treatment injection opioid users newly registered at the Baltimore Needle Exchange Program (BNEP). Study participants (n=281) completed the Addiction Severity Index (ASI), the Risk Assessment Battery (RAB), and the Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90-R), and were randomly assigned to one of three different conditions for 4 months that evaluated referral strategies designed to promote treatment interest and enrollment. The Global Severity Index (GSI) of the SCL-90 was used as a measure of psychiatric distress. A logistic regression showed that higher GSI scores predicted more treatment enrollment (Adjusted OR=2.15, CI=1.10-4.23, p<0.05), after controlling for study condition, demographic variables, syringe exchange site, and severity of drug use. The results suggest that the data from the assessment of psychiatric distress in syringe exchange settings can be used to support motivational strategies for encouraging syringe exchangers to seek substance abuse treatment.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Drug Therapy
Antianxiety Medications
Amebiasis
Psychological and Sociocultural Causes of Schizophrenia
Community Based Intervention
Foundations of Community Mental Health Programs
Central to the success of community-based interventions is the...
Drug Abuse and Addiction: Pharmacological Phenomena
Drug Dependence

