Individual differences among cocaïne users

FRANÇAIS :
Les différences de personnalité entre individus peuvent permettre de distinguer deux types d'usagers de cocaïne : 1) les "self medicators" qui utilisent la cocaïne pour soulager un état dysphorique ; 2) les "sensation seekers" qui recherchent une sensation de plaisir par la cocaïne. L'enquête a porté sur 18 hommes usagers de cocaïne et classifiés selon un "questionnaire tridimensionnel de personnalité". Les "self medicators" ont été définis par le fait de vouloir se faire le moins de mal possible (>17) et une recherche de sensation de plaisir peu élevée (<18) contrairement aux "sensation seekers" (<17) et (>18). Les résultats indiquent que les "self medicators" souffre d'une plus grande anxiété que "sensation seekers", F (1,8)=27.5, p <.001. Ces recherches suggèrent l'importance de veiller aux différences individuelles dans la motivation d'usage de cocaïne afin d'adapter un traitement à chaque cas.
ENGLISH :
The present study examined whether individual differences in personality could differentiate two types of cocaine users. We hypothesized that self-medicators (SM) use cocaine as a way to alleviate their dysphoric moods, whereas sensation seekers (SS), in contrast, use cocaine primarily to engender positive mood states. Eighteen male cocaine users were classified based on two dimensions of the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire. SM were defined by having high harm avoidance (>17) and low-novelty-seeking scores (<18), and SS by high novelty-seeking (>18) and low harm-avoidance scores (<17). It was predicted that SM would report higher depression and anxiety than would SS, and Would also exhibit a brain activity pattern similar to that found in clinical depression. The results showed that SM re- ported higher anxiety than SS, F(1, 8)= 27.5, p < .001, but did not differ in depression. SM exhibited decreased blood flow within the left frontal lobes, F(1, 10) = 6.78, p < .05, similar to what has been observed in major depressive disorder. These findings suggest the importance of attending to individual differences in the motivation for cocaine use so that treatment can be targeted more effectively. (Author's abstract.)