The Mean and the Individual

Integrating Variable-Centered and Person-Centered Analyses of Cognitive Recovery in Patients with Substance Use Disorders

Bibliographic Data

ID15519545
AuthorsMarsha E Bates (0000-0002-1406-1993, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, corresponding author), Jennifer F Buckman (0000-0002-1898-5499, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey), Gerald T Voelbel, David Eddie (0000-0002-0619-7209, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey), Jason Freeman (0000-0003-3827-1060), Mélanie Renaud (0000-0002-9010-2072, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey)
Year2013
Volume4
Pages177-177
Publication date2013-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueFrontiers in Psychiatry (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1664-0640 • E-ISSN: 1664-0640
PublisherFrontiers Media (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3389/fpsyt.2013.00177
PMID24399976
PMCIDPMC3870950
OpenAlexW1973483565
LanguageEN
References cited18

Neuropsychological and cognitive deficits are observed in the majority of persons with alcohol and drug use disorders and may interfere with treatment processes and outcomes. Although, on average, the brain and cognition improve with abstinence or markedly reduced substance use, better understanding of the heterogeneity in the time-course and extent of cognitive recovery at the individual level is useful to promote bench-to-bedside translation and inform clinical decision making. This study integrated a variable-centered and a person-centered approach to characterize diversity in cognitive recovery in 197 patients in treatment for a substance use disorder. We assessed executive function, verbal ability, memory, and complex information processing speed at treatment entry, and then 6, 26, and 52 weeks later. Structural equation modeling was used to define underlying ability constructs and determine the mean level of cognitive changes in the sample while minimizing measurement error and practice effects on specific tests. Individual-level empirical growth plots of latent factor scores were used to explore prototypical trajectories of cognitive change. At the level of the mean, small to medium effect size gains in cognitive abilities were observed over 1 year. At the level of the individual, the mean trajectory of change was also the modal individual recovery trajectory shown by about half the sample. Other prototypical cognitive change trajectories observed in all four cognitive domains included Delayed Gain, Loss of Gain, and Continuous Gain. Together these trajectories encompassed between 86 and 94% of individual growth plots across the four latent abilities. Further research is needed to replicate and predict trajectory membership. Replication of the present findings would have useful implications for targeted treatment planning and the new cognitive interventions being developed to enhance treatment outcomes

Cognition · Cognitive psychology · Developmental psychology · Latent growth modeling · Neuropsychology · Psychiatry · Clinical Psychology · Cognitive Functions and Memory · Memory and Neural Mechanisms · Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies · Psychology