Symptoms discriminating between heroin addicts seeking ambulatory detoxification or methadone maintenance

The self-report symptom inventory, SCL-90-R, was administered to 240 heroin addicts seeking ambulatory detoxification and 240 requesting methadone maintenance. Controlling for age, a stepwise discriminant analysis employing a backward elimination model was performed with the SCL-90-R's nine symptom factors to determine if the addicts described different levels of symptomatology. Interpersonal sensitivity and depression differentiated between the two groups; the ambulatory detoxification patients were more depressed and described less interpersonal sensitivity than the methadone maintenance patients. The results supported the contention that heroin addicts seeking ambulatory detoxification or methadone maintenance may display different symptoms.