Implicit Attitudes and Addictive Behaviors Among Methamphetamine Users: The Moderation of Depression

Methamphetamine use disorder is a major mental health issue worldwide. An implicit attitude is a potential way to understand the paradoxical behavior of substance use and has not been fully investigated for methamphetamine users. Depression is a common comorbidity for methamphetamine users. Little is known about the moderating effects of depression on the associations between implicit attitudes and addictive behavior in methamphetamine users. The aims of this study were to examine the associations of implicit attitudes with methamphetamine-dependent behavior and the moderation of depression in these associations.

One-hundred and fifty methamphetamine users were enrolled. Epidemiological data, methamphetamine dependence severity, and implicit attitudes were collected.

The results showed that participants have positive implicit attitudes toward methamphetamine and that the implicit attitude is positively related to dependence severity. Depressive methamphetamine users have greater levels of positive implicit attitudes and dependence severity. Furthermore, depression positively moderates the relationships between implicit attitudes and use behavior.

These results highlight the importance of implicit attitudes and depression for methamphetamine dependence and indicate that depression can strengthen the relationship between implicit attitudes and methamphetamine-use behavior. Therefore, both implicit attitudes and depression are areas to be addressed in the treatment of methamphetamine use disorder.