Psychosocial Stress and the Duration of Cocaine Use in Non‐treatment Seeking Individuals with Cocaine Dependence

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Abstract
The aim of this study was to explore a potential link between psychosocial stress and cocaine dependence among 36 non–treatment‐seeking individuals enrolled in a brain imaging protocol. Stress was assessed using computerized multidimensional instruments, including the Profile of Mood States (POMS) and Speilberger State‐Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Additional clinical assessments employed were the Addiction Severity Index and the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD). Based on the median POMS' tension‐anxiety scale score the entire sample was divided into two groups, those with high and low levels of stress. The two groups (n = 16 and 20) were similar in terms of age, gender distribution, and severity of addiction. Compared with the low stress group, high‐stress individuals displayed significantly longer duration of cocaine use, greater POMS, STAI‐state, STAI‐Trait, and HRSD scores. Our results replicate those of prior reports implicating stress in the course of cocaine dependence and extend these prior findings by 1) including a new subject population of non–treatment‐seekers and 2) by suggesting that the stress‐cocaine link may be generalizable to psychosocial stress and negative affective states defined by POMS, STAI, and HRSD scores.