The Relationship Between Vulnerable Attachment Style, Psychopathology, Drug Abuse, and Retention in Treatment Among Methadone Maintenance Treatment Patients

Abstract

The relationship between vulnerable attachment style, psychopathology, drug abuse, and retention in treatment among patients in methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) was examined by the Vulnerable Attachment Style Questionnaire (VASQ), the Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90), and drug abuse urine tests. After six years, retention in treatment and repeated urine test results were studied. Patients with vulnerable attachment style (a high VASQ score) had higher rates of drug abuse and higher psychopathology levels compared to patients with secure attachment style, especially on the interpersonal sensitivity, anxiety, hostility, phobic anxiety, and paranoid ideation scales. Drug abstinence at baseline was related to retention in treatment and to higher rates of drug abstinence after six years in MMT, whereas a vulnerable attachment style could not predict drug abstinence and retention in treatment. Clinical Implications concerning treatment of drug abusing populations and methodological issues concerning the VASQ's subscales are also discussed.

Exploring the Link among State of Mind Concerning Childhood Attachment, Attachment in Close Relationships, Parental Bonding, and Psychopathological Symptoms in Substance Users

“…It was more common in the in-patients rather than in the out-patients and in double diagnosis against single diagnosis patients, indicating that this symptom is peculiar to severe addictions. Numerous studies have found associations between addiction disorders and paranoid ideation ( Potik et al, 2014 ; Moss et al, 2015 ; Del Pino-Gutiérrez et al, 2016 ) either in terms of vulnerability ( Potik et al, 2014 ) or in terms of the causal effect of drugs on paranoia symptoms. It has been widely demonstrated that all kind of substances, such as cannabis ( Freeman et al, 2014 ) cocaine ( Roncero et al, 2014 ), methamphetamine ( Kalayasiri et al, 2014 ), and alcohol ( Bouzyk-Szutkiewicz et al, 2012 ), induce paranoid ideation.…”

The Relationship between Adult Attachment and Mental Health Care Utilization: A Systematic Review

“…Most studies (15/18, 83%) had clear information on diagnoses of mental disorders or mental health concerns. 20,[24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37] The remaining 3 articles used a broad definition of mental health (e.g., 'a mental health concern') 38,39 or enrolled individuals following a suicide attempt and/or potentially traumatic event. 40 Ten different questionnaires/ scales were used to measure attachment.…”

“…Their classification included 8 studies on treatment engagement, 25,26,28,31,35,[37][38][39] 4 studies on treatment participation, 20,31,34,40 and 7 studies on treatment completion. 24,27,29,30,32,33,36 The research findings are summarized below according to the specific treatment utilization category researched.…”

Impact of lifetime psychiatric diagnosis on long-term retention and survival of former opiate addicts in methadone maintenance treatment

“…In brief, each patient drinks the individual methadone dosage every day in the clinic and is encouraged to earn the privilege to receive " take home " dosages of medication (for up to 2 weeks) if they stop illicit drug use and present acceptable behaviour. Patients attend regular personal psychosocial therapy appointments with specialized counsellors (Potik et al 2007(Potik et al , 2014Abramsohn et al 2009). Patients also participate in several therapy groups (i.e., a mandatory seminar for newly admitted patients) and may participate in psychiatric diagnoses, and it was 16.4 years (95% CI 15.9 -16.9) for all patients.…”