Further Evidence of a Specific Psychopathology of Addiction. Differentiation from Other Psychiatric Psychopathological Dimensions (Such as Obesity)

Angelo G.I. Maremmani, Luca Cerniglia, Silvia Cimino, Silvia Bacciardi, Luca Rovai, Alessandro Pallucchini, Vincenza Spera, Giulio Perugi and Icro Maremmani
Additional contact information
Angelo G.I. Maremmani: Department of Psychiatry, North-Western Tuscany Region Local Health Unit, Versilia Zone, 55049 Viareggio, Italy
Luca Cerniglia: Department of Psychology, International Telematic University Uninettuno, 00186 Rome, Italy
Silvia Cimino: Department of Clinical and Dynamic Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
Silvia Bacciardi: School of Psychiatry, University of Pisa, 56100 Pisa, Italy
Luca Rovai: Department of Psychiatry, North-Western Tuscany Region Local Health Unit, Apuan Zone, 54100 Massa, Italy
Alessandro Pallucchini: School of Psychiatry, University of Pisa, 56100 Pisa, Italy
Vincenza Spera: School of Psychiatry, University of Pisa, 56100 Pisa, Italy
Giulio Perugi: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Section of Psychiatry, University of Pisa, 56100 Pisa, Italy
Icro Maremmani: AU-CNS, Association for the Application of Neuroscientific Knowledge to Social Aims, Pietrasanta, 55045 Lucca, Italy

IJERPH, 2017, vol. 14, issue 8, 1-10

Abstract: Introduction : In this study, we used a symptomatology checklist (SCL-90) to substantiate the hypothesis that Substance Use Disorder (SUD) has its own five-dimensional psychopathology. The aim of the present study was to test whether this psychopathology can be differentiated from other psychiatric psychopathological dimensions (such as obesity). Methods: The severity and frequency of each of the five dimensions were investigated, at univariate and multivariate levels, by comparing 972 Heroin Use Disorder (HUD) patients (83.5% male, mean age 30.12 ± 6.6, range: 16–59) and 106 obese individuals (50.0% male, mean age 37.59 ± 7.6, range: 24–52). The correlations between the Body Mass Index (BMI) of obese individuals with these psychopathological dimensions were also studied. Results: Obese individuals showed higher SCL-90 total scores, global severity index scores, number of items rated positively, and positive symptoms distress index scores than HUD patients. The severity of all psychopathological dimensions was significantly higher in obese individuals. Discriminant analysis showed that Panic-Anxiety and Violence-Suicide severity were more frequent in obese patients, sufficiently so to allow differentiation between HUD (lower severity) and obese individuals (greater severity). At the reclassification level, 70.8% of obese individuals in the sample were reclassified as HUD patients. Psychopathological subtypes characterized by Panic-Anxiety and Violence-Suicide typology were more frequent in obese patients and sufficiently so as to discriminate between groups. Of obese patients, 47.2% were reclassified as HUD patients. The severity of the Worthlessness-Being Trapped dimension was sufficient to predict the BMI of obese individuals. Conclusions: Our results suggest that the five-factor psychopathology found in HUD can discriminate between HUD and obese patients, but that there is an area of overlap between the forms of psychopathology found in SUD and those found in obese patients.

Keywords: psychopathological dimensions; psychopathology of addiction; heroin use disorder; substance use disorder; obesity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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