%0 Journal Article
%T Imagery Scripts and a Computerized Subtraction Stress Task Both Induce Stress in Methamphetamine Users: A Controlled Laboratory Study
%A Kathleen J. Garrison
%A Jeremy R. Coyle
%A Matthew J. Baggott
%A John Mendelson and Gantt P. Galloway
%J Substance Abuse: Research and Treatment
%D 2012
%I 
%R 10.4137/SART.S6019
%X Patients treated for methamphetamine (MA) dependence have a high rate of relapse, and stress is thought to play a key role. We sought to develop a computerized procedure for experimentally inducing stress in MA users. In a within-subjects design, we compared a computerized subtraction stress task (SST) to personalized stress-imagery scripts and a control condition (neutral imagery) in 9 former MA users, recruited in San Francisco in 2006¨C2007. We assessed blood hormone levels, anxiety and craving for MA on visual analog scales, and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule and made linear mixed-effects models to analyze the results. Both the SST and stress scripts were effective in inducing self-report markers of stress in MA users. Because the SST is easily reproducible and requires less time of staff and participants, it may be a useful alternative for measuring stress reactivity in drug users.
%U http://www.la-press.com/imagery-scripts-and-a-computerized-subtraction-stress-task-both-induce-article-a2322