Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Sustained reductions in drug use and depression symptoms from treatment for drug abuse in methamphetamine-dependent gay and bisexual men

  • Published:
Journal of Urban Health Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Methamphetamine abusers often complain of feelings of depression that can complicate accurately diagnosing these individuals during treatments for methamphetamine abuse. This article presents an examination of temporal associations between documented methamphetamine use and reported ratings of depression among 162 gay and bisexual male methamphetamine abusers who participated in a 16-week randomized clinical trial of four behavioral therapies for methamphetamine abuse. Methamphetamine use was measured using thrice-weekly urine samples analyzed for drug metabolite. Self-reported depressive symptoms were collected weekly using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). At treatment entry, 73.2% of participants rated their depressive symptoms as mild or higher in severity (BDI≥10), with 28.5% reporting BDI scores in the moderate to severe range (BDI≥19). All participants reported significant decreases in depressive symptoms from baseline through the end of treatment, regardless of treatment condition, HIV status, or mood disorder diagnosis. A mixed regression model showed methamphetamine use for up to 5 days prior to the BDI score strongly predicted depressive symptoms (F1,968=18.6, P<.0001), while BDI scores had no significant association with subsequent methamphetamine use. Findings show that behavioral methamphetamine abuse treatment yields reductions in methamphetamine use and concomitant depressive symptom ratings that are sustained to 1 year after treatment entry.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM-IV-TR. 4th ed. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association; 2000.

  2. Markou A, Kenny PJ. Neuroadaptations to chronic exposure to drugs of abuse: relevance to depressive symptomatology seen across psychiatric diagnostic categories. Neurotoxicol Res. 2002;4:297–313.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Rawson RA, Gonzales R, Brethen P. Treatment of methamphetamine use disorders: an update. J Subst Abuse Treat. 2002;23:145–150.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Kalechstein AD, Newton TF, Longshore D, Anglin MD, van Gorp WG, Gawin FH. Psychiatric comorbidity of methamphetamine dependence in a forensic sample. J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci Fall. 2000;12:480–484.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Huber A, Shoptaw S, Roll JM, Rawson RA, Ling W. Randomized trial of sertraline and contingency management for methamphetamine dependence. Paper presented at: American Psychological Association. Annual Convention; August 22–25, 2002; Chicago, IL.

  6. Golloway GP, Newmeyer J, Knapp T, Stalcup SA, Smith D. A controlled trial of imipramine for the treatment of methamphetamine dependence. J Subst Abuse Treat. 1996;13:493–497.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Rawson RA, Huber A, Brethen P, et al. Status of methamphetamine users 2–5 years after outpatient treatment. J Addict Dis. 2002;21:107–119.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Stall R, Paul JP, Greenwood G, et al. Alconol use, drug use and alcohol-related problems among men who have sex with men: the Urban Men’s Health Study. Addiction. 2001;96:1589–1601.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Cochran SD, Mays VM, Sullivan JG. Prevalence of mental disorders, psychological distress, and mental health services use among lesbian, gay, and bisexual adults in the United States. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2003;71:53–61.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Deren S, Beardsley M, Coyle S, Singer M. HIV serostatus and risk behaviors in a multisite sample of drug users. J Psychoactive Drugs. 1998;30:239–245.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Molitor F, Truax SR, Ruiz JD, Sun RK. Association of methamphetamine use during sex with risky sexual behaviors and HIV infection among non-injection drug users. West J Med. 1998;168:93–97.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Spitzer RL, William JB, Gibbon M, First MB. The Structured Clinical Interview for the DSM-IV (SCID). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press; 1995.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Shoptaw S, Reback CJ, Peck JA, et al. Behavioral treatment approaches for methamphetamine dependence and HIV-related sexual risk behaviors among urban gay and bisexual men. In press, Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

  14. Stout RL, Wirtz PW, Carbonari JP, Del Boca FK. Ensuring balanced distribution of prognostic factors in treatment outcome research. J Stud Alcohol. 1994;12(suppl): 70–75.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Beck AT. Depression. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press; 1967.

    Google Scholar 

  16. McLellan AT, Kushner H, Metzger D. The fifth edition of the Addiction Severity Index. J Subst Abuse Treat. 1992;9:199–213.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Rawson RA, Shoptaw S, Obert JL, et al. An intensive outpatient approach for cocaine abuse treatment: the matrix model. J Subst Abuse Treat. 1995;12:117–127.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Higgins ST, Budney AJ, Bickel WK, Hughes JR, Foerg F, Badjer G. Achieving cocaine abstinence with a behavioral approach. Am J Psychiatry. 1993;150:763–769.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Shoptaw S, Peck J, Reback CJ, Rotheram-Fuller E. Psychiatric and substance dependence comorbidities, sexually transmitted diseases, and risk behaviors among methamphetaminedependent gay and bisexual men seeking outpatient drug abuse treatment. J Psychoactive Drugs. 2003;35:161–168.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to James A. Peck PsyD.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Peck, J.A., Reback, C.J., Yang, X. et al. Sustained reductions in drug use and depression symptoms from treatment for drug abuse in methamphetamine-dependent gay and bisexual men. J Urban Health 82 (Suppl 1), i100–i108 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1093/jurban/jti029

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jurban/jti029

Keywords

Navigation