Substance-misusers' anxiety and traumatic event prevalence

Author: Christo George   Morris Camilla  

Publisher: Informa Healthcare

ISSN: 1465-3370

Source: Drugs: Education, Prevention & Policy, Vol.11, Iss.1, 2004-02, pp. : 35-47

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Abstract

This study documented the prevalence of twelve traumatic event categories among individuals in UK substance misuse treatments. The relationship between traumatic events, anxiety and active substance misuse was tested. A cross-sectional design compared treated ex-substance-misusers and prescribed active substance-misusers, with respective 'norm' comparisons. The average event category prevalence among both substance-misuse groups was generally twice that of their respective comparisons. When using a different reporting method among the active substance-misuse group, the average event category prevalence increased by over a third. However, only a third of all events had a high impact as demonstrated by intrusiveness, and these events were related to higher anxiety among active substance-misusers. Overall, event prevalence was not related to anxiety, neither were events that happened during childhood, despite a third of the active substance-misusers reporting childhood sexual molestation. Anxiety levels among the active substance-misusers were no different from the recently abstinent ex-substance-misusers and they were significantly higher than the anxiety levels of non-substance-misusers. Reporting methods may seriously influence the outcome of event-prevalence studies and only a minority of traumatic events are related to intrusiveness and anxiety.

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