To explore SUD inpatients exposure to serious traumatic events both directly (the participant himself) and/or indirectly (the family).
(i) to investigate the prevalence of co-morbid PTSD in SUD clinical inpatients;
(ii) to identify the characteristics, severity and types of trauma experienced;
(iii) to compare SUD patients with and without co-morbid PTSD on psychiatric variables.
This study compared two groups:
(1) those without PTSD,
(2) those with PTSD.
SUD inpatients reported traumatic experiences (Trauma History Questionnaire), PTSD
symptoms (PTSD CheckList-Specific), addiction severity (Addiction Severity Index), and psychiatric symptoms (M.I.N.I.). Khi square or T tests were conducted to compare rates between non-PTSD group (SUD-only; n = 27) and PTSD group (SUD-PTSD; n = 17).
All participants (n = 44) reported having been exposed to one or more traumatic events and 17 (38.6 % ) met the criteria for probable current PTSD. Significant differences between the “PTSD” and “non-PTSD” groups were found on the crime cluster (p < .04), the composite score of Alcohol (p < .005), and psychiatric variables including depression (p < .001), psychotic syndromes (p < .02) and anxiety disorders (p < .0001).
This study highlights the prevalence of PTSD symptoms among SUD inpatients, and the importance of considering PTSD symptoms to improve quality of care for patients and their families.