Sensation-seeking, social anhedonia, and impulsivity in substance use disorder patients with and without schizophrenia and in non-abusing schizophrenia patients

Simon Zhornitsky, Élie Rizkallah, Tania Pampoulova, Jean Pierre Chiasson, Olivier Lipp, Emmanuel Stip, Stéphane Potvin

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

42 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Substance use disorders (SUDs) are common in patients with schizophrenia and this comorbidity is associated with a poorer prognosis, relative to non-abusing patients. One hypothesis that has been advanced in the literature is that dual diagnosis (DD) patients may have a different personality profile than non-abusing schizophrenia patients. The present case-control study aimed to characterize levels of personality traits (sensation-seeking, social anhedonia, and impulsivity) in substance abuse/dependence patients with (DD group; n=31) and without schizophrenia (SUD group; n=39), relative to non-abusing schizophrenia patients (SCZ group; n=23), and healthy controls (n=25). Impulsivity was assessed using the Barratt Impulsivity Scale. Sensation-seeking was assessed using the Zuckerman Sensation Seeking Scale. Social anhedonia was assessed with the Chapman Social Anhedonia Scale. We found that sensation-seeking was significantly higher in DD and SUD, relative to SCZ patients. We found that social anhedonia was significantly elevated in DD and SCZ, relative to healthy controls. We found that impulsivity was significantly higher in DD, SCZ and SUD patients, compared to healthy controls. The results suggest that sensation-seeking is prominent in substance abuse/dependence (irrespective of schizophrenia), social anhedonia is prominent in schizophrenia (irrespective of substance abuse/dependence), and impulsivity is prominent in all three populations.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)237-241
Number of pages5
JournalPsychiatry Research
Volume200
Issue number2-3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Dec 30 2012
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Dual diagnosis
  • Impulsivity
  • Schizophrenia
  • Sensation seeking
  • Social anhedonia
  • Substance abuse

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Psychiatry and Mental health
  • Biological Psychiatry

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Sensation-seeking, social anhedonia, and impulsivity in substance use disorder patients with and without schizophrenia and in non-abusing schizophrenia patients'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this