Comparison of Emotional Processing Between Patients with Substance Use Disorder and Those with Dual Diagnosis: Relationship with Severity of Dependence and Use During Treatment

ABSTRACT

This study analyzed, in a Spanish sample, the differences in emotional processing in patients diagnosed with substance use disorder (SUD) and patients with a dual diagnosis (DD), and tested whether alterations in emotional regulation were related to the severity of dependence and consumption during treatment. A descriptive follow-up study was conducted with 88 adult outpatients (83% men) who were receiving treatment for alcohol and cocaine SUD. Of the sample, 43.2% presented dual diagnosis according to DSM-IV-TR criteria. Emotional processing was assessed with the IAPS, and dependence severity with the SDSS. Consumption was determined with self-reports and toxicological tests. Regression analyses revealed that the DD group had more difficulties in identifying the valence and arousal of the images than patients with SUD. Patients with DD presented more difficulty in identifying images in which valence was manipulated, but not in those in which arousal was manipulated. Cocaine use during treatment was associated with difficulties in identifying unpleasant (U = 734.0; p < .05) and arousing (U = 723.5; p < .05) images. Although these results are preliminary, findings suggest that impaired emotional processing is aggravated in dual patients, although it may be a common transdiagnostic factor in SUD and other comorbid mental disorders. Findings highlight the importance of evaluating emotional regulation to better understand its possible role in the maintenance of substance use.

KEYWORDS:

• Emotion
• emotional processing
• substance use disorder
• dual diagnosis
• relapse

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by the grant “Estudio Longitudinal de una nueva batería neuropsicológica para la prevención de la recaída en pacientes con trastornos por consumo de alcohol y cocaína: estudio de precisión y evidencias de validez”, Project PSI2016-79368-R, awarded to Óscar Lozano Rojas, PhD (Department of Clinical and Experimental Psychology. University of Huelva, Huelva, Spain and Research Center in Natural Resources, Health and the Environment. University of Huelva, Spain) by the Spanish Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad (Madrid, Spain).