Cognitive avoidance as a coping mechanism in patients with opioid use disorders (OUDs): a cross-sectional study in Western Iran

ABSTRACT

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to compare cognitive avoidance in patients with OUDs and a control group.

Methods: This study is a case-control study. The selected population includes all the patients with OUDs and control group visiting Farabi Hospital of Kermanshah in western Iran in 2018 for treatment. From this population, 202 individuals were selected as the sample of the study. The required data were collected using the Cognitive Avoidance Questionnaire (CAQ) and the data were analyzed using logistic analysis.

Results: The majority of the individuals under study were in the age range of 26-35 years (48.5%), male (92.6%), with a secondary school education (80.6%), unemployed (55.4%), and single (59.9%). Moreover, the results of the logistic analysis show that the total score of cognitive avoidance among patients with OUDs, 7.50 (1.34 – 13.66), was higher than that of control group ($P<0.05$).

Conclusions: The findings from the current study indicate the high prevalence of cognitive avoidance among patients with OUDs, which shows that this component must be considered while attempting to prevent and treat OUDs.

KEYWORDS:

• Cognitive avoidance
• coping mechanism
• opioid use disorders (OUDs)

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the Substance abuse prevention research center and clinical Research Development Unit (CRDU) of Emam Khomeini Hospital, university of Medical sciences, Kermanshah, Iran for their cooperation and scientific assistance throughout the period of study.

Disclosure statement

The authors of this article hereby declare that there has been no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

The Research Deputy of Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences funded the study. Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences [97214]