Relationship between coffee use and depression and anxiety in a population of adult polysubstance abusers.

OBJECTIVES

This study examined the relationship between mental health symptoms and the use of tobacco and caffeinated beverages during and just before a counseling session in a population of adult polysubstance abusers.

METHODS

The participants were all polysubstance users in substance abuse treatment. The participants completed the Beck Depression Inventory II and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory immediately after a treatment episode. They also reported whether or not they had drunk a caffeinated beverage or smoked a cigarette just before or during that treatment episode.

RESULTS

Coffee drinkers scored significantly higher (mean = 20.3) on the Beck Depression Inventory II than did noncoffee drinkers (mean = 9.2). The differences between these groups on the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory were nonsignificant. There was no relationship between other caffeinated beverages or tobacco use and depression or anxiety.

CONCLUSIONS

Caffeine use is associated with depression in adult polysubstance abusers. Implications for using coffee drinking as a predictor of depression in substance abuse treatment settings are discussed.