This study examined the relationship between quality of life (QOL) and dual diagnosis among patients in treatment for opioid dependence. The study sample includes 57 patients with opioid dependence alone (OD) and 41 with opioid dependence and a psychiatric axis-I disorder (DD), recruited in 2001 and 2004 at the Drug Addiction Services (SerT) of Bolzano and Pontedera (Italy). Participants were 73.5% males, with a mean age of 35.1 years (SD = 8.0). A comparison group of 45 healthy controls was also included. Assessments included a structured psychiatric interview (SCID) and a self-report quality of life assessment (WHOQOL-BREF). Patients with DD reported significantly (p < 0.05) poorer QOL in the physical and psychological domains as compared with patients with OD. Both groups of patients with and without DD showed significantly (p < 0.001) poorer QOL in the physical, psychological, and social domains with respect to healthy participants. The scores on the "relationship with environment" domain did not differ among OD, DD, and controls. The present study provides preliminary evidence that dual diagnosis is associated with poorer QOL and emphasizes the need to target treatment for the mental disorder concomitantly with the dependence problem in patients in treatment for opioid dependence.
Recourse to substances is associated with increased mood and anxiety symptoms, substance sensitivity, and sensation seeking among patients with BPD + SUD and SUD. Substance sensitivity and sensation seeking traits should be investigated in all patients with BPD as possible factors associated with a development of SUD, in order to warn patients of the specific risks related to improper use of medications and substances.
Introduction: Despite the general agreement that normal jealousy is heterogenous, little is known about this specific topic.Methods: In the present study, we explored the possibility of distinguishing between four subtypes of “normal” jealousy (depressive, anxious, obsessive, and paranoid) amongst a cohort of 500 healthy university students by means of a specifically designed questionnaire, “Questionario della gelosia” (QUEGE). QUEGE is a self-report instrument of 30 items which explores the presence, frequency, and duration of feelings and behaviors related to jealousy. It was devised to investigate four hypothetical psychopathological profiles: depressive, paranoid, obsessive, and anxious.Results: The factor analysis identified five rather than four clear-cut factors: self-esteem, paranoia, interpersonal sensitivity, fear of being abandoned, and obsessionality. Women showed statistically significant lower levels of self-esteem and higher levels of obsessionality than men. Younger age (<25 years) was associated with lower self-esteem and higher levels of paranoia and obsessionality, while being single was associated with lower self-esteem and higher levels of obsessionality.Conclusion: The present study provides evidence of the reliability and validity of the QUEGE instrument, which seems to identify the presence of five psychopathological dimensions within the jealousy phenomenon in the general population.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.