Solomon David T, Nietert Paul J, Calhoun Casey, Smith Daniel W, Back Sudie E, Barden Eileen, Brady Kathleen T, Flanagan Julianne C
Western Carolina University.
Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC.
Couple Family Psychol. 2018 Jun;7(2):91-102. doi: 10.1037/cfp0000103.
Social stress, especially dyadic conflict among couples, is an important correlate of addiction. Several authors have suggested that the neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) may be useful in the treatment of couples with substance misuse. However, the literature examining OT among couples is scant and has yielded mixed findings. The current study examined the effects of OT versus placebo on emotional (e.g., warmth and anger) and physiological (e.g., skin conductance and heart rate) reactivity to a conflict resolution task in 30 heterosexual couples (N=60) in which one or both members misused substances. Using a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled design, both partners within each dyad were randomized to the same treatment condition. Participants completed a standardized conflict resolution task at baseline and 45 minutes following drug self-administration. Physiological measures were examined continuously during the laboratory tasks and emotional reactivity was self-reported at baseline and at 5 time points over the course of 1 hour following the second conflict resolution task. Results of a multi-level growth curve model accounting for baseline scores, gender and drug condition indicate that positive emotional experiences and skin conductance measures increased over the 5 time points. Neither drug condition nor gender was significantly related to outcomes, and no interaction effects were observed. These findings highlight the complexities involved in translational OT research and suggest that the impact of OT on key outcomes requires further exploration in regards to OT's potential therapeutic benefit.
社会压力，尤其是夫妻间的二元冲突，是成瘾的一个重要相关因素。几位作者提出，神经肽催产素（OT）可能有助于治疗有药物滥用问题的夫妻。然而，关于夫妻间OT的文献很少，且结果不一。本研究考察了OT与安慰剂对30对异性恋夫妻（N = 60）在解决冲突任务时的情绪反应（如温情和愤怒）和生理反应（如皮肤电导率和心率）的影响，这些夫妻中一方或双方存在药物滥用问题。采用随机、双盲、安慰剂对照设计，将每对夫妻中的双方随机分配到相同的治疗组。参与者在基线时以及药物自我给药后45分钟完成一项标准化的冲突解决任务。在实验室任务期间持续测量生理指标，在第二次冲突解决任务后的1小时内，在基线和5个时间点让参与者自我报告情绪反应。考虑了基线分数、性别和药物情况的多层次生长曲线模型结果表明，在5个时间点上积极情绪体验和皮肤电导率测量值有所增加。药物情况和性别与结果均无显著相关性，也未观察到交互作用。这些发现凸显了催产素转化研究的复杂性，并表明催产素对关键结果的影响在其潜在治疗益处方面仍需进一步探索。
