Association of antisocial personality disorder with psychiatric morbidity among patients with substance use disorder

Objectives: The aims were to determine among patients with Substance Use Disorder (SUD) whether patients with Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD) manifest less, the same, or more of the following: (1) psychiatric symptoms, (2) family history of psychiatric disorder, (3) psychiatric disorders and morbidity, and (4) psychiatric treatment, as compared to patients without ASPD. Design & Definition: Scheduled interview using DSM-III-R criteria for ASPD, with blinded interviewers making the ASPD classification vs. other assessments. Settings: Alcohol-drug treatment programs located in two university medical centers. Subjects: Six hundred and six voluntary patients aged 18 and older meeting diagnostic criteria for SUD. Results: SUD patients with ASPD reported more family history of non-SUD psychiatric diagnoses and endorsed more hostility symptoms. Demographic characteristics, psychiatric disorder, and past psychiatric treatment did not differ in association with ASPD.