Citation

Stevens L, Roeyers H, Dom G, Joos L, Vanderplasschen W. Eur. Addict. Res. 2015; 21(3): 131-143.

Affiliation

Department of Orthopedagogics, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, Karger Publishers)

DOI

10.1159/000369008

PMID

25675959

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Cocaine-dependent individuals (CDI) display increased impulsivity. However, despite its multifactorial nature most studies in CDI have treated impulsivity monolithically. Moreover, the impact of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has often not been taken into account. This study investigates whether CDI with ADHD (CDI+ADHD) differ from CDI without an ADHD diagnosis and healthy controls (HC) on several impulsivity measures.

METHODS: Thirty-four CDI, 25 CDI+ADHD and 28 HC participated in this study. Trait impulsivity was assessed with the motor, attentional and non-planning subscales of the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11). Neurocognitive dimensions of impulsivity were examined with the stop signal task (SST), delay discounting task (DDT) and information sampling task (IST).

RESULTS: Relative to HC, both CDI and CDI+ADHD scored higher on all BIS-11 subscales, required more time to inhibit their responses (SST) and sampled less information before making a decision (IST). Greater discounting of delayed rewards (DDT) was only found among CDI+ADHD. Compared to CDI without ADHD, CDI+ADHD scored higher on the BIS-11 non-planning and total scale and showed higher discounting rates.

CONCLUSION: CDI score higher on several indices of impulsivity relative to HC, regardless of whether they have concomitant ADHD or not. CDI+ADHD are specifically characterized by a lack of future orientation compared to CDI without ADHD. © 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Language: en