Multimodal Assessment of Self-Awareness in Adults with Substance Use Disorder

Substance use disorders (SUDs) are chronic, relapsing conditions with significant psychosocial consequences. This thesis examined whether self-awareness, the ability to maintain an accurate, objective perception of oneself and to act accordingly, may be disrupted in SUDs including in Cocaine (CUD) and Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD). Both treatment-enrolled and non-treatment seeking adults with SUD exhibited disrupted self-awareness relative to healthy adults, which was related to reduced motivation for treatment and increased severity of addiction. Assessing and treating difficulties in self-awareness may promote addiction treatment engagement and motivation in both non-treatment seeking treatment-enrolled adults with SUD.