Abstract
The association between opiate addiction and psychopathology has a long history which is now partially supported by empirical data. For example, opiate addicts have been shown to have high rates of depression (Dorus, 1980; Lehman, 1972; Robins, 1974; Rounsaville, 1979; Steer, 1980; Wieland, 1970; Weisman, 1976), antisocial personality characteristics (Craig, 1979), schizophrenia or schizotypal features (Sheppard, 1969; Hekimian, 1968; Zimmering, 1952), manic symptomatology (Craig, 1979; Flemmenbaum, 1974), and alcoholism (Belenko, 1979). The major problem to date, in the studies of psychopathology in opiate addicts, is the measure of psychopathology which has usually been dimensional symptom or personality scales. Diagnostic techniques, particularly the more recently improved measures, have rarely been applied to the opiate addict (Ling, 1973). The result is that there has been a gap between general psychiatric practice and the treatment of opiate abusers. This gap is reflected in the fact that opiate addicts are usually treated in separate specialty clinics. The isolation of the addict in separate treatment programs and from recent developments in psychiatric diagnostic practice could lead to missed opportunities for useful treatment. For example, the opiate addict who is also bipolar might benefit from lithium, or the addict who is also depressed, might benefit from treatment with a tricyclic antidepressant.
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Rounsaville, B.J., Weissman, M.M., Kleber, H.D., Wilber, C.H. (1984). Psychiatric Disorders in Treated Opiate Addicts. In: Serban, G. (eds) Social and Medical Aspects of Drug Abuse. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-6320-0_13
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-6320-0_13
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