Department of Psychology, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse. 2011 Jan;37(1):43-7. doi: 10.3109/00952990.2010.535581. Epub 2010 Nov 19.
Research has suggested that individuals with elevated anxiety sensitivity (AS) (the fear of benign bodily sensations associated with anxiety) are more likely to use substances to cope with distress, particularly substances with arousal-dampening effects such as benzodiazepines and other sedatives. Such coping motives may also vary as a function of gender, with women more likely to use substances for coping (self-medicating) purposes. Given these findings, we hypothesized that AS would be associated with illicit sedative use in an opioid-dependent sample and that gender would moderate this relationship, with a greater association among women.
Participants were 68 opioid-dependent patients recruited from a methadone maintenance clinic. A logistic regression was used to determine whether AS was associated with presence or absence of a history of illicit sedative use.
AS was significantly associated with sedative use and this relationship was moderated by gender; elevated AS was associated with greater sedative use only in women.
The presence of elevated AS is related to greater illicit use of sedatives in women but not in men. Women may be more susceptible to seek sedatives as a means of coping with unpleasant, anxious sensations.
研究表明，焦虑敏感（AS）（对与焦虑相关的良性身体感觉的恐惧）水平较高的个体更有可能使用物质来应对痛苦，特别是具有抑制唤醒作用的物质，如苯二氮䓬类和其他镇静剂。这种应对动机也可能因性别而异，女性更有可能出于应对（自我治疗）目的而使用物质。鉴于这些发现，我们假设 AS 与阿片类药物依赖样本中的非法镇静剂使用有关，性别会调节这种关系，女性之间的相关性更大。
参与者是从美沙酮维持诊所招募的 68 名阿片类药物依赖患者。使用逻辑回归来确定 AS 是否与非法镇静剂使用的存在或不存在有关。
AS 与镇静剂的使用显著相关，这种关系受到性别的调节；仅在女性中，较高的 AS 与更大的镇静剂使用相关。
AS 水平升高与女性中更大量非法使用镇静剂有关，但与男性无关。女性可能更容易寻求镇静剂作为应对不愉快、焦虑感觉的一种方式。
