Social consequences of substance abuse: the impact of comorbid psychiatric disorders. A prospective study of a nation-wide sample of treatment-seeking patients

To access publisher full text version of this article. Please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links field This is both a retrospective and a 16 and 28 months prospective study of the association between psychiatric comorbidity and social consequences (accidents, fights, broken relationships, dr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Scandinavian Journal of Social Medicine
Main Authors: Tomasson, K, Vaglum, P
Other Authors: Department of Psychiatry, National University Hospital, Reykjavík, Iceland.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Scandinavian University Press 2010
Subjects:
Adult
Alcoholism
Comorbidity
Cross-Sectional Studies
Female
Humans
Iceland
Incidence
Male
Mental Disorders
Middle Aged
Patient Admission
Prospective Studies
Risk Factors
Social Problems
Substance-Related Disorders
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/2336/93393
https://doi.org/10.1177/14034948980260010101
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Summary:To access publisher full text version of this article. Please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links field This is both a retrospective and a 16 and 28 months prospective study of the association between psychiatric comorbidity and social consequences (accidents, fights, broken relationships, drunken driving arrest, and reduced employment) related to alcohol in a nation-wide sample (n = 351) of substance abusers seeking inpatient treatment. Psychiatric comorbidity was evaluated with the Diagnostic Interview Schedule, while drinking history and social consequences were assessed with a structured questionnaire. The social consequences had a high rate of re-occurrence. Controlled for alcohol consumption, polysubstance abuse predicted accidents (OR = 2.9) and fights (OR = 3.9) among men, while among pure alcoholics of both sexes phobia (OR = 4.3) and antisocial personality disorder (OR = 3.0) predicted fights. Only level of abuse predicted broken relationships. Antisocials had most drunken driving arrests. Attempts to reduce these social consequences should aim at treating polysubstance abuse, phobia, and antisocial personality disorder. However, the overriding aim should be the promotion of abstinence.

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