A comparison of self-report and behavioral measures of impulsivity in a group of patients receiving opioid dependence treatment

The aim of this study is to evaluate individuals with opioid use disorder in terms of impulsivity, decision making and behavioral activation/inhibition and to compare them with those of a group of healthy control subjects. The experimental and control groups consisted of 49 and 48 individuals respectively. Impulsivity was measured with the Barratt Impulsivity Scale-11, behavioral activation/inhibition was measured with the Behavioral Avtivation Scale/Behavioral Inhibition Scales and addiction severity was assessed using the Bağımlılık Profil İndeksi (BAPİ). Subsequently the behavioral delay discounting task developed by Kirby, Petry and Bickel (1999) was administered to both groups. Preliminary analyses showed that the majority of the group that had opioid use disorder was male, single, unemployed, had an education level of middleschool or below and a low or middle socioeconomic level. Regarding their substance use characteristics this group first used at an average age of 21.42 years with an average daily dose of 2.95 grams. The majority of the group used heroin through smoking/inhalation. Comparisons between the groups showed that the experimental group had higher levels in the attention impulsivity, motor impulsivity and BAS-fun seeking subscales. The experimental group also displayed greater delay discounting rates. To sum up, the purpose of this thesis is to evaluate impulsivity levels in a group of patients with opioid use disorder using a variety of self-report and behavioral measures and to compare them with those of a control group. By evaluating the relationships between these different measures of impulsivity, this work aims to gain some insight into the Dynamics underlying the decision making processes in individuals with opioid addiction that can hopefully be implemented also in treatment apporaches.