Assessing drug use relapse rate and its associated factors among Iranian users

ABSTRACT

Background

Relapse of drug use makes addiction more complex and difficult. This study aims to access the rate of drug use relapse and its determining factors among users referred to addiction treatment centers in Saveh, Iran.

Methods

This cross-sectional study was conducted among 403 users referred to Saveh addiction clinics, in Iran. Data were collected using a survey using stratified random sampling methods.

Results

A total of 374 men and 29 women participated in this study. The mean age of participants was 37.9 ± 10.1 years old but the mean age of first use was 17.6 ± 5.3 years old. More than half of the participants had elementary education. Most of those (74%) had a history of relapse. Escape from daily life challenges, place of residency, unemployment, and availability of drugs were dominant factors for relapse. The demographic factors of gender, and duration of the addiction and psychological factors of resilience, positive outcome expectancies, urges and temptations to use, self-efficacy, social support, and emotion-oriented coping were significant variables in predicting relapse (p < .05).

Conclusion

This study finding has significant implications for policy decision makers and educational interventions. Addressing determinants of drug use relapse is the primary strategy for preventing and reducing drug use.

KEYWORDS:

• Relapse
• addiction
• users
• substance use

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank all the experts of addiction treatment centers and the participants who provided valuable information to the researchers and helped them in this research.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Ethical approval was obtained from the Saveh University of Medical Sciences Ethics Committee (IR.SAVEHUMS.REC.1398.001). In order to comply with the research ethics, all information received was confidential and was used only to achieve the objectives of the study. In addition, not mentioning the name of the participant and receiving informed written consent from the participants in this study. The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Additional information

Funding

Data for this study were extracted from a research project at the Saveh University of Medical Sciences which was supported by Social Determinants of Health Research Center. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.