Relapse Precipitants, Life events and Dysfunction in alcohol and opioid dependent men

One hundred subjects each who reported with a relapse of alcohol and opioid dependence were assessed using Relapse Precipitants Inventory-Hindi (RPI-Hindi), Presumptive Stressful Life Events Scale (PSLES) and Dysfunction Analysis Questionnaire (DAQ). The two groups were similar for substance related clinical profile and RPIHindi score profile. On PSLES, the alcohol group reported higher number of and stress due to desirable (but not undesirable, ambiguous or total) events in lifetime while, the opioid group reported higher number of and stress due to total, desirable and undesirable (but not ambiguous) events in the past one year. On DAQ opioid group reported higher total dysfunction and in social, family and cognitive areas. Regression analysis showed the contribution to relapse to be significant in terms of: the total number of life events in lifetime and in past one year in alcohol group; the number of and stress due to total life events in past one year and social dysfunction in opioid group and; the number of desirable and undesirable events in lifetime and in the past one year and stress due to desirable events in the past one year, when the two groups were combined together. Thus, the results suggest that relapse in alcohol and opioid dependence is associated with similar relapse precipitants but a differential dysfunction and, life events in terms of the number and type of events and associated stress in lifetime and in the past one year.