Types of psychopathology displayed by heroin addicts

Symptom profiles of 157 male and 54 female heroin addicts based on Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale scores were compared with normative data for 6,000 psychiatric patients by using previously described schizo-depressive and coping-resignation contrast functions. Diagnostic types found among the addicts were as follows: anxious-depressive features, 35.1%; undifferentiated syndromes, 26.5%; hostile-depressive features, 16.6%; retarded depressive features, 9.5%; hostile suspicious traits, 6.6%; and blunted affect without significant depressive features, 5.7%. None of the addicts showed levels of thought disturbance comparable to those found in the psychiatric patients.