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Personality measures in former heroin users receiving methadone or in protracted abstinence from opiates
Author(s) -
Cohen L. J.,
GertmenianKing E.,
Kunik L.,
Weaver C.,
London E. D.,
Galynker I.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
acta psychiatrica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.849
H-Index - 146
eISSN - 1600-0447
pISSN - 0001-690X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0447.2005.00546.x
Subject(s) - millon clinical multiaxial inventory , temperament and character inventory , opiate , heroin , novelty seeking , psychology , psychiatry , harm avoidance , methadone , personality , clinical psychology , personality assessment inventory , abstinence , psychopathology , methadone maintenance , schizophrenia (object oriented programming) , personality disorders , temperament , medicine , drug , social psychology , receptor
Objective: Methadone Maintenance Therapy (MMT) and detoxification to abstinence are among the most common treatment options for opiate‐dependent patients. This paper compares personality traits in detoxified former heroin users and those on MMT in order to assess their relevance to treatment selection. Method: Twenty‐six formerly heroin‐dependent subjects receiving MMT (MM), 33 formerly heroin‐dependent subjects withdrawn from MMT (MW), and 43 healthy controls were compared on the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory‐II (MCMI‐II) and the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). Results: On the TCI, MM patients had higher novelty seeking and lower self‐directedness scores than controls. Both MM and MW subjects scored higher than controls on multiple MCMI‐II scales. MW but not MM subjects scored higher than controls on two Cluster A Scales and the delusional disorder scale. Conclusion: Schizophrenia‐spectrum pathology in former opiate users may be greater than previously recognized and could potentially be relevant to treatment selection.