Module 14: Co-Occurring Problems

Ch. 2: Comorbidity with Addiction

Our second chapter for Module 14 is about comorbidity and comes from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA; 2010) research report, Comorbidity: Addiction and Other Mental Illness. This is where that distinction made in Chapter 1 comes into play: it addresses co-occurring diagnosable conditions, not many of the other kinds of personal, family, or community problems that co-occur with substance use. The concepts presented in this piece are relevant, although some of the statistics have shifted a bit. These are more up-to-date in the material you read in Chapter 1. Another point to consider as you read this chapter: the authors define co-morbidity as two disorders that co-occur. However, this should probably read “two or more” because individuals may experience more than two at a time.

In this chapter, you will read about:

  • childhood ADHD and later drug problems
  • the overlap between smoking and schizophrenia
  • how common over-lapping conditions are
  • why substance use disorders so commonly co-occur with other mental disorders (especially the brain-related reasons)
  • issues in diagnosis and treatment of comorbid conditions
  • exposure to traumatic events and the risk of substance use disorders

PDF links icon

Click here for a link to our Carmen course where you can locate the assigned pdf file(s) for this chapter. You will need to be logged into our Carmen course, select Module 14, and proceed to the Coursework area. Under the Readings heading you will find a box with links to the readings for relevant coursebook chapters. Don’t forget to return here in your coursebook to complete the remaining chapters and interactive activities.

 

License

Icon for the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License

Ch. 2: Comorbidity with Addiction Copyright © by Audrey Begun is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

Share This Book