Polysubstance abusing alcoholics constitute the majority of alcoholics seeking treatment, yet there is no systematic research examining their cognitive and psychosocial status and the effect that these variables might have on recovery. The current project proposes a systematic consideration of these functions in three subgroups of alcoholics: those who a) regularly abuse no other drug (excluding marijuana); b) abuse """"""""stimulants""""""""; and c) abuse """"""""depressants"""""""". A model identifying the underlying processes of access, availability and efficiency is proposed as a means of evaluating initial cognitive function and its recovery over a one year period (M = 14 months). Consistent findings regarding alcohol-related deficits in abstraction and problem-solving have prompted us to limit our investigation to this aspect of cognitive function. Psychosocial status and adaptation will be assessed at both initial testing and retesting with a series of questionnaires shown to be valid and reliable measures of family environment, work environment, and typical coping and general health issues. Specific cognitive tasks previously shown to be related to treatment outcome and relapse will also be administered. Measures of childhood and residual adult attention deficit disorders, family histories of alcoholism or other drugs, and sex differences will also be examined for possible effects on obtained differences in cognitive and/or psychosocial function. The cross-sectional aspects of the project involve a 4 (controls and 3 alcoholic subgroups) by 2 (males and females) factorial design. The longitudinal aspects of the study involve the initial assessment of function at 21-45 days sobriety followed by a reassessment at approximately 14 months (range 12-16 months) posttreatment. The study (N-240) requires the initial testing of 60 control subjects (n=30 females) and 60 alcoholic subjects (n=30 females) in each of the alcohol-drug subgroups. Alcoholic subjects, recruited from area inpatient and outpatient facilities, will meet DSM-IIIR criteria for alcohol abuse/dependence. Controls, recruited from community resources, will indicate no history of drug use of excessive social drinking. All subjects will be screened for any medical or psychiatric condition which might confound results. Subjects will be tested in our laboratories and paid for their participation. Dependent variables for the various cognitive studies include accuracy, response times, types and numbers of errors, and electrophysiological responses associated with semantic processing. Measures pertinent to assessing psychosocial adaptation include reported satisfaction with family and work environment, number and type of coping mechanisms, quality of interpersonal skills, depressive symptomatology, cognitive status and resumption of drinking or use (amount and pattern). The results will contribute to the scientific literature by identifying potential cognitive and psychosocial differences between the alcohol-drug subgroups and determining to what extent variables, as well as subject variables such as sex, family history, and attentional problems, are associated with differential outcome in the groups.
| Rojas, Julio I; Hallford, Gene; Brand, Michael W et al. (2012) Latino/as in substance abuse treatment: substance use patterns, family history of addiction, and depression. J Ethn Subst Abuse 11:75-85 |
| Nixon, Sara Jo; Lawton-Craddock, Andrea; Tivis, Rick et al. (2007) Nicotine's effects on attentional efficiency in alcoholics. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 31:2083-91 |
| Ceballos, Natalie A (2006) Tobacco use, alcohol dependence, and cognitive performance. J Gen Psychol 133:375-88 |
| Ceballos, Natalie A; Tivis, Rick; Lawton-Craddock, Andrea et al. (2006) Nicotine and cognitive efficiency in alcoholics and illicit stimulant abusers: implications of smoking cessation for substance users in treatment. Subst Use Misuse 41:265-81 |
| Ceballos, Natalie A; Tivis, Rick; Lawton-Craddock, Andrea et al. (2005) Visual-spatial attention in alcoholics and illicit stimulant abusers: effects of nicotine replacement. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 29:97-107 |
| Ceballos, Natalie A; Nixon, Sara Jo; Phillips, Julia A et al. (2003) Semantic processing in alcoholics with and without antisocial symptomatology. J Stud Alcohol 64:286-91 |
| Ceballos, Natalie A; Nixon, Sara Jo; Tivis, Rick (2003) Substance abuse-related P300 differences in response to an implicit memory task. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 27:157-64 |
| Lawton-Craddock, Andrea; Nixon, Sara Jo; Tivis, Rick (2003) Cognitive efficiency in stimulant abusers with and without alcohol dependence. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 27:457-64 |
| Hallford, H Gene; Tivis, Rick D; Nixon, Sara Jo (2003) An empirical assessment of post-treatment alcohol consumption. Psychiatry Res 121:197-205 |
| Phillips, Julia A; Nixon, Sara Jo; Pfefferbaum, Betty (2002) A comparison of substance abuse among female offender subtypes. J Am Acad Psychiatry Law 30:513-9 |
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