The effects of psychiatric distress, inhibition, and impulsivity on decision making in patients with substance use disorders: A matched control study

In the present study, the decision making abilities of patients with substance use disorders were compared to those of healthy controls and, subsequently, the impact of psychiatric distress, behavioral inhibition, and impulsivity on Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) performance were evaluated. A total of 31 patients and 31 matched healthy controls performed the IGT and completed the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R) and the Behavioral Inhibition System/Behavioral Activation System (BIS/BAS). The results confirmed that the patient group had severe impairments on the IGT relative to the controls, which appeared to be virtually unrelated to the employed measures. It is concluded that self-reported psychiatric symptoms, behavioral inhibition, and impulsivity have no impact on the IGT performance in this patient sample.