Prediction of abstinence from heroin addiction by childhood trauma, dissociation, and extent of psychosocial treatment

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Abstract

This study is an investigation of trauma and dissociation in 93 Israeli patients recovering from drug use disorder. The respondents showed more emotional, physical and sexual traumatization than consecutive admissions to an Israeli outpatient stress clinic, and their levels of dissociation were similar to those previously measured in Israeli patients diagnosed with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Acute Stress Disorder. It was posited that the level of trauma-related dissociation can make an independent contribution to explaining variance in recovery from a drug use disorder. The finding of structural equation analyses supported this model and suggests that childhood traumatization is related to the proclivity of chemically-dependent respondents to participate in psychosocial treatment and that duration of psychosocial treatment can positively predict duration of abstinence. Dissociation levels made an independent negative contribution to the prediction of abstinence. While our findings imply that tenacity in treatment could be a sustaining process associated with abstinence from drug use, they also suggest that without a thorough resolution of trauma-related dissociation, optimal treatment outcome is compromised.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)339-348
Number of pages10
JournalAddiction Research and Theory
Volume11
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2003

Keywords

  • Dissociation
  • Dual diagnosis
  • Heroin
  • Israel
  • Substance abuse
  • Trauma

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Medicine (miscellaneous)

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