Comparison of the SCL-90-R score between nicotine dependence and cocaine dependence subjects at the beginning of treatment

Abstract

The demand for treatment of problems on account of drug abuse is related to the presence of psychological distress. This distress is frequently produced by the negative consequences of drug abuse and the presence of psychopathological problems. The objective of the present study is to compare the psychological distress perceived by the subject with the score in the nine scales of psychopathological symptoms of the SCL-90-R at the start of treatment of subjects with cocaine dependence and subjects with nicotine dependence. The sample is formed by 230 subjects, 115 with cocaine dependence and 115 with nicotine dependence. We find significant differences between the group with nicotine dependence and the one with cocaine dependence in all the general indexes and in the subscales of symptoms except in somatization and phobic anxiety.