Background characteristics and clinical correlates of dual diagnosis inpatients.
Item
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Title
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Background characteristics and clinical correlates of dual diagnosis inpatients.
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Identifier
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AAI9605603
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identifier
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9605603
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Creator
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Houanche, Mildred Mary.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Laurence J. Gould
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Date
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1995
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Psychology, Clinical | Health Sciences, Mental Health | Psychology, Personality
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Abstract
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Mentally ill patients who abuse alcohol and illicit street drugs pose a major challenge to mental health administrators and practitioners. These dual-diagnosis (DD) patients are susceptible to a deterioration of their medical, mental, and physical well-being. In order to determine the impact of a mental illness/substance abuse comorbidity, the medical records of 80 dual diagnosis inpatients treated at a small urban general hospital's psychiatry service were compared to the records of 80 psychiatric controls. Demographic, background, diagnostic, service use, and clinical variables were examined. It was hypothesized that the dual diagnosis patient would be younger, more likely to be male, and of African or Hispanic descent than the psychiatric controls (PC). It was also predicted that dually disordered patients would be more likely to carry a co-morbid affective disorder and have a personality disorder, be readmitted to the study hospital, and have a shorter length of stay. Clinically, DD patients were predicted to have a family history of alcoholism, exhibit greater suicidality prior to their admissions, and have a history of childhood sexual abuse when compared to psychiatric patients who were not chemically dependent. The findings of this study indicate that a dual diagnosis is significantly associated with younger age, male gender, and with being African American. Patients with dual difficulties were also likely to carry an Axis II diagnosis, have a shorter hospital stay, a history of familial alcoholism, and were more suicidal compared to the controls. Contrary to expected results, they were not more likely to be readmitted, carry an Axis I mood disorder, or have a history of sexual abuse. Among the dual diagnosis group alone, the majority of admissions involved the use of polysubstances other than alcohol. In conclusion, substance abuse appears to be a devastating complication in psychiatric patients treated in urban general hospital settings.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
