Predictors of current depressive symptoms in a sample of drug court participants

Interviews, completed between March 2000 and November 2002 with Kentucky drug court participants in Lexington and Bowling Green (N = 500), participated in a cross-sectional analysis examining the associations between self-reported, current depressive symptoms and various personal characteristics and experiences from the period before drug court involvement. Depressive symptoms were measured with the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), and potential correlates were derived from the Addiction Severity Index (ASI), 1992 version. BSI depression scores indicated minimal-to-moderate symptoms, with a mean individual score of 0.73, on a scale from none (0) to extreme (4) symptom strength. Numerous predictor variables were significantly associated, but multiple regression analysis identified five variables as independent correlates of depressive symptoms: 1) poorer self-rated health, 2) having ever been treated in a hospital for psychological or emotional problems, 3) being troubled by family problems in the 6 months before drug court, 4) having had conflicts with nonfamily others in the 6 months before drug court, and 5) being female. If confirmed by future, prospective research, the five variables found by the multiple regression analysis may be useful in identifying and more adequately treating substance abusers with symptoms of depression.