Research: Former Narcotic Addicts Need Systemic Support and Post-Treatment
Any sufficiently aware society should be interested in providing social support to former drug addicts after their stay in a treatment facility. This was shown by the first research carried out in Montenegro with users of the Kakaricka Gora University of Technology, Dr. Ene Grbović, from the Faculty of Political Sciences of the University of Montenegro, on a representative sample of 107 ex-addicts out of the 240 that were in the institution at that time, and that passed one year of rehabilitation. The second author of this two-year research is Dr. Boban Mugoša, from the Institute of Public Health of the University of Montenegro.
"Most of the examined addicts went to treatment treatments up to three times. The disease of addiction is a chronic disease and it is very likely to relapse into drug abuse. Recurrence does not mean that the treatment failed, but that it should be repeated and adapted to the needs of the person," Dr. Grbović explains.
Self-help groups are of great importance for the maintenance and duration of abstinence. Not only this, but also research in the world leads to this conclusion. This is also confirmed by the fact that most of them visit groups several times a week in which the 12-step program is applied, a world-recognized and well-known way of helping various addictive behaviors. "Provided social support, i.e. a persons perception that other people will give him support in a situation when he needs it is of great importance.”Family relationships and support are crucial for the treatment process, but good relationships with other important people in life are also a significant factor for psychological and mental health, especially from the perspective of social functioning," Dr. Grbović says. The subjects of this research started consuming cigarettes and alcohol at the age of 13, while they first tried tranquilizers and marijuana at the age of 16, and heroin at the age of 18."In recent years, the prevalence of addiction to psychoactive substances in our country has reached epidemic proportions, with a constant increase in prevalence. Also, both in the world and in our country, the consumption of psychoactive substances is starting earlier and earlier on the one hand, while on the other hand, there is a phenomenon that increased consumption also occurs in people over 40 and 50 years old. The characteristics of the "new wave" are the demetropolization and decentralization of this phenomenon, as well as the combined consumption of different types of psychoactive substances," Dr. Grbović explains. The research showed that the family environment does not represent a predisposition to reach for intoxicating substances, at least thats what the total percentage showed, but it is primarily "curiosity" and "society". The data showed that the majority come from families where violence is not expressed, that it is usually the first child, in order of birth, with an average childhood and high school education, with good success. "The majority of respondents grew up in the so-called a complete family, and most often in a married union, with an average of four members. Also, they believe that they were not neglected by their parents and that their parents paid them enough attention. Relationships with parents are perceived as close, with the relationship with the mother being more affectionate than the relationship with the father. "The parents knew the society to a large extent, but a significant percentage of them did not know the society in which they move in their free time," Dr. Grbović announced the research data. According to the research, the respondents fathers used alcohol more often, while their mothers consumed tranquilizers. "More than half of the respondents exhibited deviant behavior in their past, they were restless, quarrelsome, prone to fights." A significant number ran away from home and exhibited a certain type of deprivation. Suicide is expressed on a slightly smaller scale, but not negligible. 7.5% of clients tried to commit suicide at some point in their life. Furthermore, 86% of the respondents were legally punished (misdemeanor or criminal), and even slightly more than half of the respondents were in prison. The reasons for the high rate of misdemeanor and criminal penalties are the provision of significant material resources for the consumption of narcotic drugs, and the majority of addicts resort to theft, burglary, trafficking and possession of drugs," says Dr. Grbović.The recommendation that came out of this research is that we should encourage the development of preventive activities and raising awareness about the harmfulness of consuming psychoactive substances at an early age."As the average user of psychoactive substances does not have a specific profile, but fits into the picture of the average citizen of Montenegro, preventive activities would be universal and would include all categories of students in primary schools, throughout the country," Dr. Grbović concludes.
Paper available at: http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/Article.aspx?id=0042-84501800104G#.Yxjm-nZBzIU