Relationship between elevated habituation tendencies and impulsivity, compulsivity, and childhood adversity among...

Elevated habituation tendencies have been identified in several subgroups of patients with substance use disorders, however, their intricate relationship with substance use disorders remains unknown. A total of 133 individuals with methamphetamine use disorder (PwMUD) and 131 healthy controls (HC) were initially recruited for this study. After exclusion of outliers, data from 128 PwMUD and 125 HC were included in the analyses. Participants reported their habituation tendencies, drug-use characteristics, impulsivity, compulsivity, and experiences of childhood adversity through self-report scales and structured interviews. The results show that PwMUD had a higher level of automatic habituation tendencies compared to healthy controls. This higher level of automaticity demonstrated a tenuous association with the duration of methamphetamine use and a relatively stronger association with compulsivity, suggesting that the imbalance between the goal-directed and habitual systems in PwMUD may be both a risk factor for and a consequence of methamphetamine use disorder.