ABSTRACT
In the past two decades, the prevalence of comorbid psychopathological disorders in the population of substance abuse patients has received ample attention.1,2 Studies indicate that the prevalence of co-occurring Axis I and Axis II disorders in substance abuse patients is high.2,3 Moreover, these studies show that anxiety and mood disorders are the most prevalent comorbid Axis I disorders in this population. Patients with this psychiatric comorbidity have worse response rates in substance abuse treatment compared to patients with a substance abuse disorder only.1,4,5 In addition, studies show that patients with poorer psychiatric functioning have increased risk for dropout during substance abuse treatment.6 To adequately treat these co-occurring psychiatric disorders and consequently reduce substance abuse treatment dropout rates and improve outcome, it is of major importance to screen for these disorders early in treatment.
