Differences Between Expressive Suppression and Cognitive Reappraisal in Opioids and Stimulant Dependent Patients

BACKGROUND: Substance use and affective disorders frequently co-occur, but the role of affective dysregulation in addiction is often overlooked. There is evidence shows that substance – dependent individuals have more problems in regulating their emotions. OBJECTIVES: This study compared two commonly used emotional regulation strategies, cognitive reappraisal and suppression, in opioids and methamphetamine dependents. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred forty men with substance dependence (70 Opioids, 70 Methamphetamine) were selected by accessible sampling, and they responded to Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (Gross & John) and Clinical drug addiction profile (CDAP) questionnaire. SPSS software was used to analyze the results, and descriptive statistics such as frequency tables and inferential statistics including independent t-test were used. RESULTS: Opioids and methamphetamine dependent patients differ in reappraisal strategy (P < 0.01). These groups differ not only in reappraisal strategy, but also in the suppression (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Opioids and methamphetamine dependent individuals used different strategies for regulating their emotions. The key finding was that opioids dependents prefer suppression, and methamphetamine dependents usually use reappraisal for this purpose.