Citation

Francke ID, Viola TW, Tractenberg SG, Grassi-Oliveira R. Child Abuse Negl. 2013; 37(10): 883-889.

Affiliation

Centre of Studies and Research in Traumatic Stress, Post-Graduate Program in Psychology and Biomedical Research Institute, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Av. Ipiranga, 6681, prédio 11, sala 936, 90619-900, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.chiabu.2013.04.008

PMID

23988085

Abstract

Studies have shown that environmental factors, such as exposure to childhood maltreatment, might shift the course of addiction. Little is known, however, about whether childhood physical neglect (PN) influences the severity of withdrawal and depressive symptoms during the detoxification period. This is a 3 weeks follow-up study. The participants were divided into 2 groups: those with a history of PN (PN+) (n=32) and those without a history of PN (PN-) (n=48). Clinical variables were assessed with the SCID-I, BDI-II, Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, Addiction Severity Index and Cocaine Selective Severity Assessment. Depressive symptom assessments were repeated at three time points. Withdrawal symptom assessments were repeated at five different points following detoxification. A repeated measures analysis of covariance indicated that the PN+ group exhibited a significantly lower reduction in the severity of withdrawal symptoms compared to the PN- group (p<0.05). Post hoc analyses showed that after 12 days of treatment, the severity of withdrawal symptoms in the PN+ group did not decrease in the same level as was observed in the PN- group. Moreover, a strong correlation was found between the severity of depression and the intensity of the abstinence symptoms during treatment. Patients who reported more depressive symptoms also exhibited more severe withdrawal symptoms. The ASI-6 indicated higher severity problems related to alcohol and psychiatric disorders in the PN+ groups. Our data support the role of childhood PN in the contingencies of the detoxification process of crack cocaine-dependent women.

Language: en