Compulsive comorbidities: links between generalized anxiety disorder and substance use disorders among African American women
This study proposed to examine the impact of substance use and abuse on the treatment and coping mechanisms of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) in African American women. Comorbid mental health problems such as depression and anxiety are common in individuals with alcohol and other drug problems. The co-occurrence of substance use disorders (SUDs) and anxiety disorders has now been well documented (Vorspan, Mehtelli, Dupuy, Bloch, & Lépine, 2015). Research has shown that up to 80% of clients with alcohol or drug issues have comorbid mental health issues. However, little is known about the occurrence of this association in African American women. The findings of this research would have great implications for treatment and prevention in this underserved population. The approach to data analysis involved two levels of examination: 1) univariate statistics (descriptive statistics will be used to provide simple summaries about the sample and all of the study measures) and 2) bivariate analysis for descriptive purposes (depending on the variable type), correlations, and survival analysis were performed to document the association between the independent variables and outcome variables. The present study examined the link between mental (anxiety disorders and the severity of anxiety symptoms) and drug use disorders in a sample of African American females (N = 537, aged 19 to 56 years old). Preliminary analysis indicated that only high (and not low or moderate) perceived family support was shown to be a protective factor in terms of the mixed-effects regression analysis of GAD as well as the severity of anxiety/fear symptoms. Additionally, the following factors proved to be significant in increasing the likelihood of GAD prevalence or having more severe anxiety/fear symptoms: being dually diagnosed across all models, some level of moderate to severe drug and alcohol composite scores, criminal justice charges, and having some type of insurance that did not include Medicaid. Findings from the current study are discussed in terms of their implications for prevention and treatment of comorbid drug use and mental health disorders among minority populations.
University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign