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Original Article

Does Availability of Illicit Drugs Mediate the Association between Mental Illness and Substance Use?

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Pages 1304-1308 | Published online: 25 May 2011
 

Abstract

This study investigated the association between presence of mental illness, detected by an increased level of Kessler Psychological Distress Scale score, and prevalence of exposure to opportunity to obtain illicit drugs among adolescents and young adults aged 12–24 years using data collected by the 2007 Australian National Drug Strategy Household Survey (N = 2,663). Adolescents and young adults with mental illness have increased prevalence of exposure to drug use opportunity. Higher exposure to opportunity to obtain illicit drugs among people with pre-existing mental illness may further contribute to the co-existence of drug dependence and other mental disorders that are frequently reported in the literature.

RÉSUMÉ

La disponibilité des drogues illicites intervient-elle dans l'association entre la maladie mentale et l'abus de substances?

Cette étude a examiné l'association entre la présence de la maladie mentale, détectée par l'augmentation du niveau de score sur l’échelle de détresse psychologique Kessler, et la prévalence de l'exposition à la disponibilité de drogues chez les adolescents et les jeunes adultes à travers les données recueillies lors du “2007 Australian National Drug Strategy Household Survey” (l'enquête nationale des ménages sur la stratégie de drogue en Australie), chez des jeunes âgés de 12 à 24 ans (N = 2,663) Les adolescents et jeunes adultes atteints de troubles mentaux ont une plus grande prévalence d'exposition à la disponibilité de drogue. Une exposition plus élevée à la disponibilité de drogues chez les personnes atteintes de troubles mentaux préexistants peut contribuer davantage à la coexistence de la dépendance aux drogues et d'autres troubles mentaux qui sont souvent rapportés dans la littérature scientifique.

RESUMEN

¿Es que la disponibilidad de drogas ilícitas interceden en la asociación de las enfermedades mentales con el abuso de sustancias?

Este estudio ha investigado la asociación de la presencia de enfermedades mentales que se han detectado por un incremento en el nivel de la escala de Angustia Psicológica de Kessler y la prevalencia de la oportunidad a la exposición de drogas entre adolescentes y adultos jóvenes según datos recogidos por la Encuesta Nacional de Hogares en Australia de la Estrategia contra las Drogas entre las edades de 12 a 24 años (N = 2,663) Los adolescentes y jóvenes adultos con enfermedades mentales tienen mayor prevalencia y oportunidad a la exposición de drogas. Mayor oportunidad a la exposicion de drogas entre las personas con enfermedades mentales preexistentes puede contribuir mas a la coexistencia de la dependencia en las drogas y otros trastornos mentales que se registran con frecuencia en la literatura.

THE AUTHORS

Wenbin Liang, MBBS, Ph.D., is a research fellow at the National Drug Research Institute (NDRI), in Perth, Western Australia. He is interested in interactions among physical disease, mental illness, and substance abuse.

Simon Lenton, Ph.D., MPsych(clin), is a Professor and the Deputy Director at the NDRI, in Perth, Western Australia, where he has worked since 1993. He also works part time as a Clinical Psychologist in private practice specializing in drug issues. His research interests include bridging the gap between drug policy research and drug policy practice, drug use and harm reduction, overdose prevention, impact of legislative options for drugs, and drink and drug driving. He is a the Deputy Editor of Drug and Alcohol Review and co-edits the “Harm Reduction Digest” that appears in that journal.

Steve Allsop, Ph.D., is the Director of the NDRI at Curtin University, Western Australia. He has worked in the drug field for almost 30 years, dividing his time between academic and government positions. He is interested in policy development and prevention and clinical trials. He has a particular interest in prevention and other responses to alcohol-related harm and strategies that enhance our responses to people affected by co-existing drug and mental health problems.

Dr Tanya Chikritzhs, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor at Curtin University and leads the alcohol policy research team at the NDRI. She has academic qualifications in epidemiology and biostatistics and some 15 years of experience in alcohol research. Chikritzhs is the Principal Investigator for several ongoing national projects. Included among these is the internationally acclaimed National Alcohol Indicators Project (NAIP) funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing since 1998. The NAIP is Australia's central source of authoritative information on the epidemiology of alcohol in Australia and serves as a fundamental information base for the National Alcohol Strategies.

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