A study of SCL-90 scores of 264 methadone patients in treatment

The SCL-90, a psychiatric symptom test, was administered to 264 methadone maintenance treatment program clients. Although patients generally had levels of distress comparable with psychiatric patient populations, no relation between the level of symptom distress and patient performance was found. Female patients were significantly more disturbed than male patients. Sixty-three percent of the patient population scored above the normal level of symptom distress, with scores highest in the depression and paranoid scales. The findings call for reappraisal of the supposed links between psychopathology and patient performance in methadone patients, and underscore the usefulness of the SCL-90 in identifying general levels of symptom distress among methadone patients. The SCL-90 is also useful in highlighting patient subgroups, such as female patients, who are in particular distress.