Prevalence, symptoms and correlates of antisocial personality disorder among methadone maintenance clients

A sample of 222 methadone maintenance (MM) clients were tested for a diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder (ASPD). The majority (60.8%) of clients qualified for a lifetime diagnosis of ASPD, 25.7% received a current diagnosis of ASPD, and a conduct disorder of childhood was diagnosed for 68.5% of subjects. The most common symptoms of ASPD among MM clients were unlawful behaviours, aggressiveness and recklessness. Lack of remorse was reported by less than a third of subjects with a lifetime diagnosis of ASPD. Subjects with a current diagnosis of ASPD had been retained in treatment as long as other clients, and were no more likely to be currently injecting or sharing injecting equipment. It is concluded that clients with ASPD can be retained in MM treatment, and can respond to MM treatment as well as other clients.