Mental disorder and type of substance consumption: pilot study on the use of the Dual Pathology Screening Interview (ECDD)

Abstract

Introduction: Dual pathology defines an illness case when a substance abuse disorder and a mental disorder simultaneously affect an individual patient. Both disorders influence each other, mutually, that its recommended what recommends to treat them together.

Objective: to analyse the psychopatologic character and its association with different types of substances, evaluated through the Dual Pathology Screening interview (ECDD).

Method: the participants were 63 patients between 18 and 45 years, with an average age of 37.7 years (SD = 9.6), assisted in the Unit of Addictive Behaviours of a Valencia town. The sociodemographic variables, clinical and toxycologic, were evaluated through the questionnaire from the Information System for the Evaluation of Quality Assistance in Drug Addiction (DRY). The Dual Pathology diagnostics were evaluated through the Dual Pathology Screening interview (ECDD).

Results: substances with greater assistance demand were cocaine and alcohol. Our study indicates that 84.13% of the participants present some type of axis I disorder (one or more). Cocaine consumption presented the greater number of associated psychopathologies.

Discussion: according to ECDD, the presence of possible cases of dual diagnosis in the sample was very high. Our study demonstrates a direct relationship between the substance type consumption and the psychopathological diagnosis. ECDD would appear to be a useful assessment tool in clinical practice for the detection of psychopathologies among patients with addictions.