This proposal will examine the association between opiate addiction and sexual assault history in female methadone maintenance clients. The link between combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance abuse in male veterans is well-known, as is the reactivity of male opiate addicts to drug cues. Although sexual assaults is a more common cause of PTSD in women, and up to 40% of opiate addicts are female, neither issue has been addressed sufficiently in women. To further elucidate the link between sexual assault-related PTSD and opiate addiction in women, this research project will evaluate the psychological and physiological reactivity of females clients to drug, neural, and sexual assault audio cues. Measures of cue reactivity will include drug craving, euphoria, drug symptoms, mood, heart rate, blood pressure, skin conductance, skin temperature, and respiration rate. Subject groups will include clients with sexual assault-related PTSD and those without a history of either sexual assault in PTSD. This study should provide essential information on the characteristics od sexual assault-related PTSD in women, especially with regard to opiate addiction. In addition, it should allow us to determine whether women respond to drug cues in the same way as men.
