Salta al menu principale di navigazione Salta al contenuto principale Salta al piè di pagina del sito
FrancoAngeli Journals

Saggi, Studi e Ricerche

N. 71 (2025)

Psychosocial Dimensions of Substance Use Disorders in Apulia: Insights from the project BioSUD

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3280/mis71-2025oa20598
Inviata
9 luglio 2025
Pubblicato
23-10-2025

Abstract

Substance Use Disorders (SUDs) represent a major global public health concern, shaped by a complex interplay of neurobiological, psychological, and sociocultural determinants. This study, conducted within the framework of the BioSUD initiative in Apulia, Southern Italy, investigates the psychosocial profiles and substance use patterns of 1,806 participants, comprising 298 individuals with a clinical diagnosis of SUDs and 1,508 non-clinical controls. Group differences emerged in educational attainment, employment status, exposure to adverse life events, family history of substance use, psychiatric comorbidity, and the quality of interpersonal relationships. Individuals with SUDs reported markedly higher consumption of nicotine, alcohol, cannabis, cocaine, heroin, and other substances, with polydrug use, particularly involving cocaine and heroin. Craving intensity was significantly elevated among clinical participants across all dimensions: reward craving (seeking pleasurable effects), relief craving (alleviating negative emotional states or withdrawal), and obsessive craving (persistent, intrusive thoughts related to substance use). These findings highlight the need for integrated interventions that address not only substance use but also the psychosocial vulnerabilities contributing to addiction. Early screening, especially in adolescents and young adults, paired with efforts to strengthen protective factors such as supportive relationships, school engagement, and coping skills, is key to prevention. As part of the broader BioSUD initiative, combining psychosocial data with genetic profiling may further improve early risk detection and guide personalized prevention and treatment strategies.

Riferimenti bibliografici

  1. American Psychiatric Association (2022). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - (5th ed) - Text Revised. DSM-T TR. APA.
  2. Bergen-Cico D., Wolf-Stanton S., Filipovic R., & Weisberg J. (2016). Trauma and neurological risks of addiction. In: Neuropathology of drug addictions and substance misuse (Vol. 1, pp. 61-70). Elsevier.
  3. Brockett A.T., Pribut H.J., Vázquez D., & Roesch M.R. (2018). The impact of drugs of abuse on executive function: characterizing long-term changes in neural correlates following chronic drug exposure and withdrawal in rats. Learning & Memory, 25(9): 461-473. Doi: 10.1101/lm.047001.117.
  4. Bryant D.J., Oo M., & Damian A.J. (2020). The rise of adverse childhood experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice and Policy, 12(S1): S193-S194. Doi: 10.1037/tra0000711.
  5. Deak J.D., & Johnson E.C. (2021). Genetics of substance use disorders: a review. Psychological Medicine, 51(13): 2189-2200. Doi: 10.1017/S0033291721000969.
  6. Ducci F., & Goldman D. (2012). The genetic basis of addictive disorders. The Psychiatric clinics of North America, 35(2): 495-519. Doi: 10.1016/j.psc.2012.03.010.
  7. Everitt B.J., & Robbins T.W. (2016). Drug Addiction: Updating Actions to Habits to Compulsions Ten Years On. Annual review of psychology, 67: 23-50. Doi: 10.1146/annurev-psych-122414-033457.
  8. Goldstein R.Z., & Volkow N.D. (2011). Dysfunction of the prefrontal cortex in addiction: neuroimaging findings and clinical implications. Nature Reviews. Neuroscience, 12(11): 652-669. Doi: 10.1038/nrn3119.
  9. Gross J.J. (2015). Emotion regulation: Current status and future prospects. Psychological Inquiry, 26(1): 1-26. Doi: 10.1080/1047840X.2014.940781.
  10. Hawkins J.D., Catalano R.F., & Miller J.Y. (1992). Risk and protective factors for alcohol and other drug problems in adolescence and early adulthood: implications for substance abuse prevention. Psychological Bulletin, 112(1): 64-105. Doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.112.1.64.
  11. Horsfall J., Cleary M., Hunt G.E., & Walter G. (2009). Psychosocial treatments for people with co-occurring severe mental illnesses and substance use disorders (dual diagnosis): a review of empirical evidence. Harvard Review of Psychiatry, 17(1): 24-34. Doi: 10.1080/10673220902724599.
  12. Kendler K.S., Sundquist K., Ohlsson H., Palmér K., Maes H., Winkleby M.A., & Sundquist J. (2012). Genetic and familial environmental influences on the risk for drug abuse: a national Swedish adoption study. Archives of General Psychiatry, 69(7): 690-697. Doi: 10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2011.2112.
  13. Kirkbride J.B., Anglin D.M., Colman I., Dykxhoorn J., Jones P.B., Patalay P., Pitman A., Soneson E., Steare T., Wright T., & Griffiths S. L. (2024). The social determinants of mental health and disorder: evidence, prevention and recommendations. World Psychiatry: Official Journal of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA), 23(1): 58-90. Doi: 10.1002/wps.21160.
  14. Kober H. (2014). Emotion regulation in substance use disorders. In J.J. Gross (Ed.). Handbook of emotion regulation (2nd ed., pp. 428-446). The Guilford Press.
  15. Koob G.F., & Volkow N.D. (2010). Neurocircuitry of addiction. Neuropsychopharmacology: official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, 35(1): 217-238. Doi: 10.1038/npp.2009.110.
  16. Leri F., Bruneau J., & Stewart J. (2003). Understanding polydrug use: review of heroin and cocaine co-use. Addiction (Abingdon, England), 98(1): 7-22. Doi: 10.1046/j.1360-0443.2003.00236.x.
  17. Miyake A., & Friedman N.P. (2012). The Nature and Organization of Individual Differences in Executive Functions: Four General Conclusions. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 21(1): 8-14. Doi: 10.1177/0963721411429458.
  18. Squeglia L.M., Jacobus J., & Tapert S.F. (2009). The influence of substance use on adolescent brain development. Clinical EEG and neuroscience, 40(1): 31-38. Doi: 10.1177/155005940904000110.
  19. Tiffany S.T., & Wray J.M. (2012). The clinical significance of drug craving. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1248, 1-17. Doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2011.06298.x.
  20. Torregrossa M.M., Corlett P.R., & Taylor J.R. (2011). Aberrant learning and memory in addiction. Neurobiology of learning and memory,
  21. (4): 609-623. Doi: 10.1016/j.nlm.2011.02.014.
  22. Tranberg K., Colnadar B., Nielsen M.H., Hjorthøj C., & Møller A. (2024). Interventions targeting patients with co-occuring severe mental illness and substance use (dual diagnosis) in general practice settings - a scoping review of the literature. BMC primary care, 25(1): 281. Doi: 10.1186/s12875-024-02504-3.
  23. Treur J.L., Munafò M.R., Logtenberg E., Wiers R.W., & Verweij K.J.H. (2021). Using Mendelian randomization analysis to better understand the relationship between mental health and substance use: a systematic review. Psychological Medicine, 51(10): 1593-1624. Doi: 10.1017/S003329172100180X.
  24. Verdejo-García A.J., Perales J.C., & Pérez-García M. (2007). Cognitive impulsivity in cocaine and heroin polysubstance abusers. Addictive Behaviors, 32(5): 950-966. Doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2006.06.032.
  25. Volkow N.D., & Morales M. (2015). The Brain on Drugs: From Reward to Addiction. Cell, 162(4): 712-725. Doi. 10.1016/j.cell.2015.07.046.
  26. Wise R.A., & Koob G.F. (2014). The development and maintenance of drug addiction. Neuropsychopharmacology: official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, 39(2): 254-262. Doi: 10.1038/npp.2013.261.
  27. World Health Organization (2024). Global status report on alcohol and health and treatment of substance use disorders. -- https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/377960/9789240096745-eng.pdf?sequence=1.
  28. World Health Organization (2021). International Classification of Diseases, Eleventh Revision (ICD-11). -- https://icd.who.int/browse11.