Is opioid dependency related to coping strategies?

Abstract

Using opioid for recreational purposes has a very long history in Iran. Social influence is a useful framework in understanding how the social environment affects the individual's behavioral choices to use drugs. We compared opioid dependents (n=149) with controls (n=221) on measures of coping strategies using the Jalowiec Coping Scale and some socioeconomic factors. The differences in 10 of 15 coping strategies were significant in the study groups (P<0.05). Although, the combined score of problem-oriented and affective-oriented items did not show any significant difference between the two groups. There was a significant relation between opioid dependence with smoking cigarettes (P<0.001), lower education (P=0.002), being employed (P<0.001), having children (P<0.001), and being married (P<0.001). Educational programs to improve problem solving and coping skills can be helpful to reduce the rate of dependency to opioid and smoking cigarettes. © 2015, Sadeghali Taziki, et al