Cocaine is one of the most powerful addictive drugs of abuse, uses of which peaked around 1985 especially by women. The use of this drug has been associated with significant symptoms of anxiety. Dissociation is a defense mechanism used to cope with high levels of anxiety. The purpose of this study is to determine if cocaine using mothers show a greater tendency to employ dissociation as a means of coping with anxiety compared to non-cocaine using mothers. It has been suggested that failure to recognize dissociative states among clinical populations may account for poor therapeutic outcomes, particularly for dissociative-based conditions, such as for some eating disorders. If dissociation is observed within a cocaine using population, this finding would suggest the utility of specific therapeutic interventions such as hypnotherapy. Other therapy implications include focusing on teaching the individual to recognize her ability to dissociate. Such interventions might also have a positive impact on the development of their drug exposed infants. The following specific aims will be addressed: 1) To examine the level, extent and nature of anxiety symptoms reported by cocaine using versus non-cocaine using mothers. 2) To assess for tendencies toward dissociation as a coping mechanism for anxiety symptoms in cocaine using versus non-cocaine using mothers. The following research hypotheses are being addressed: 1) Cocaine using mothers will demonstrate higher levels of anxiety than non using mothers. 2) Cocaine using mothers will demonstrate higher levels of three dimensions of dissociation than non using mothers as measured by a dissociation scale, a measure of absorption, and an assessment of hypnotizability.
Showing the most recent 10 out of 753 publications
