A 12-year follow-up study of psychiatric symptomatology among cocaine-dependent men.

This prospective longitudinal study examines patterns of psychiatric symptomatology among men admitted to treatment for cocaine dependence in 1988-1989. Study participants were interviewed at treatment intake, and at 1 year, 2 years and 12 years after treatment. The Hopkins Symptom Checklist-58 (SCL) and Natural History Interview were administered at the 4 time points. Of the 266 study participants interviewed at the 12-year follow-up, 138 (52%) had been cocaine abstinent for 5 years or more. Repeated measures ANOVA assessed changes in SCL scores over time for cocaine-abstinent and non-abstinent men. Both groups had similarly high mean SCL scores at treatment intake, and reductions in symptom severity 1 year after treatment. By 12-year follow-up, the abstinent group reported significantly lower SCL scores than the non-abstinent group on 4 of the 5 symptom measures. Additionally, cocaine-abstinent men reported lower rates of depressive and psychotic disorders, and lower use of psychopharmacologic and inpatient treatment than non-abstinent men. These findings suggest that severe psychiatric symptomatology persists among individuals unable to achieve a stable recovery from cocaine dependence.