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Heroin Addiction and Related Clinical Problems: 2019, 21, N5 (pages: 61 - 66)

Ethnicity and Specific Psychopathology of Addiction. Comparison between Migrant and Italian Heroin Use Disorder Patients

Carbone M.G., Tagliarini C., Ricci M., Lupi A.M., Sarandrea L., Ceban A., Casella P., and Maremmani I.

Summary: Background: In previous research projects of ours, we have succeeded in defining a psychopathology that appears to be specific to the substance use disorder, while remaining stable and independent of many factors and variables. The primary symptom dimensions considered were: W/BT, SS, S/P, PA, and V/S. Methods: Continuing this line of investigation, we tested the independence of this five-dimension psychopathology from ethnicity by assessing its five dimensions in migrant subjects with Heroin Use Disorder (M-HUD), and comparing them, after matching for age and gender, with Italian HUD patients (IT-HUD), selected from the Addiction PISA-DATASET in a naturalistic, case-control study. Results: Despite the differences regarding educational level, job typology and economic situation, M-HUD and IT-HUD patients showed the same severity and the same predominant typology in the five dimensions we consider specific to SUD. Conclusions: The present study once again shed light on a specific aggregation of psychopathological symptoms in SUD patients, a finding that strengthens the credibility of the five-factor solution.