Social-cognitive difficulties in former users of methamphetamine
Henry, Julie D. Mazur, Magdalena Rendell, Peter Gregory
Henry, Julie D.
Mazur, Magdalena
Rendell, Peter Gregory
Abstract
Objectives: Methamphetamine (MA) abuse is associated with neurocognitive impairment. We investigated whether important aspects of social-cognitive function are similarly disrupted. Method: A total of 12 adults with a history of MA dependence (average duration of use, 3.9 years), currently engaged in rehabilitation and abstinent for an average period of 6 months, and 12 MA naive participants completed measures of facial affect recognition, theory of mind, executive function and memory. Results: MA users were impaired on the measures of facial affect recognition and theory of mind (ds=1.75 and 2.32, respectively), with the magnitude of these deficits comparable or larger to those observed on the cognitive measures. Conclusions: Social-cognitive difficulties are associated with MA use and have potentially important implications for rehabilitative practice.
Keywords
Date
2009
Type
Journal article
Journal
British Journal of Clinical Psychology
Book
Volume
48
Issue
3
Page Range
323-327