This study includes all inpatients of the years 1977-1988 treated for multiple drug abuse, in a psychiatric department of a general hospital in Berlin. The descriptive assessment of combined drug abuse in the last half year before admission for withdrawal treatment was the research object. 1176 persons with multiple drug abuse were admitted. The mean-value of age was 36.8 years, the duration of addictive behaviour 9.2 years and, they had 1.9 withdrawal treatments as inpatients before their admission here. On an average they took 2.91 substances simultaneously, predominantly alcohol and benzodiazepines. The third rank is occupied by combinations of analgesics, and the fourth one by heroin. Some preferred combinations with characteristic variables of their users are evaluated.
Adolescent Adult