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Heroin Addiction and Related Clinical Problems: 2021, 23, N5 (pages: 5 - 14)

Comparison of Impulsivity with Self-Report and Behavioral Method in Patients with Opioid Use Disorder

Barlas L., Ünübol B., and Dağ İ.

Summary: Background: Impulsivity levels of individuals using alcohol, substance have been shown to be higher than the control groups. One of the most widely used behavioral paradigms to evaluate impulsivity in substance use disorder is delay discounting. Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate individuals with opioid use disorder in terms of impulsivity, decision making and behavioral activation/inhibition and to compare them with those of a group of healthy control subjects. Method: The case and control groups consisted of 49 and 48 individuals respectively. Impulsivity was measured with the Barratt Impulsivity Scale(BIS-11), behavioral activation/inhibition(BIS/BAS) and Addiction Profile İndex(APİ) was used. Subsequently the behavioral delay discounting task was administered to both groups. Results: The majority of the group that had opioid use disorder was male, single, unemployed, had education level of middleschool or below and a low or middle socioeconomic level. First used at an average age of 21.42 years with an average daily dose of 2.95 grams heroin. Comparisons between the groups showed that the case group had higher levels in the attention impulsivity, motor impulsivity and BAS-fun seeking subscales. The case group also displayed greater delay discounting rates. Conclusion: By evaluating the relationships between these different measures of impulsivity, this work aims to gain some insight into the Dynamics underlying the decision making processes in individuals with opioid addiction that can hopefully be implemented also in treatment approaches.