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Presence and Persistence of Psychotic Symptoms in Cocaine‐ versus Methamphetamine‐Dependent Participants
Author(s) -
Mahoney James J.,
Kalechstein Ari D.,
De La Garza Richard,
Newton Thomas F.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
the american journal on addictions
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.997
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1521-0391
pISSN - 1055-0496
DOI - 10.1080/10550490701861201
Subject(s) - methamphetamine , paranoia , cocaine dependence , psychology , stimulant , psychiatry , psychosis , cocaine use , clinical psychology , persistence (discontinuity) , addiction , medicine , geotechnical engineering , engineering
The primary objective of this study was to compare and contrast psychotic symptoms reported by cocaine‐ and methamphetamine‐dependent individuals. Participants included 27 cocaine‐dependent and 25 methamphetamine‐dependent males, as well as 15 cocaine‐dependent and 18 methamphetamine‐dependent females. After screening, participants were excluded if they met criteria for any Axis I diagnosis other than nicotine dependence, or methamphetamine or cocaine dependence (ie, participants had to use either methamphetamine or cocaine but were excluded if they met dependence criteria for both). The participants were administered the newly developed Psychotic Symptom Assessment Scale (PSAS), which assesses psychotic symptoms. A high proportion of both cocaine‐ and methamphetamine‐dependent men and women reported delusions of paranoia and auditory hallucinations. However, during the abstinent and intoxicated conditions, methamphetamine‐dependent men and women were more likely than cocaine‐dependent men and women to report psychotic symptoms. Future studies will compare psychotic symptoms reported by non‐dependent recreational stimulant users to stimulant‐dependent individuals.