International Journal of High Risk Behaviors and Addiction
Volume:4 Issue: 1, Mar 2015

Several empirical studies have shown the attitude of smokers to formulate judgments based on distortion in the risk perception. This alteration is produced by the activation of the optimistic bias characterized by a set of the unrealistic beliefs compared to the outcomes of their behavior. This bias exposes individuals to adopt lifestyles potentially dangerous for their health, underestimate the risks and overestimate the immediate positive effects.. This study aimed to analyze the relationship between optimistic bias and smoking habits. In particular, it was hypothesized that smokers develop optimistic illusions, able to facilitate the adoption and the maintenance over time of the unhealthy lifestyles, such as cigarette smoking, and the former smokers could acquire a belief system centered on own responsibility..Patients and The samples (n = 633, female = 345, male = 288) composed of smokers (35.7%), ex-smokers (32.2%) and nonsmokers (32.1%). Each participant filled out two questionnaires including The Fagerström test and the motivational questionnaire as well as a set of items measured on a Likert scales to evaluate health beliefs.. The results confirmed the presence of the optimistic bias in comparative judgments, and the attitude to overestimate the effectiveness of their preventive behaviors in the smokers.. Cognitive bias in risk perception may influence health behaviors in negative way and reinforce cigarette smoking over the time. Future research should be conducted to identify the better strategies to overtake this cognitive bias to improve the quitting rate..

Self-harm behaviors consist of parasuicidal behaviors, which represent “a deliberate destruction of body tissue, with or without suicidal intent”. A theoretical model is the Experiential Avoidance Model. The most frequent risk factors are school distress, poor social integration, poor social and family support, drugs use, sexual abuse, altered sense of life and death, bad relationship with the body and unsolved body mentalization process.. The objective of the present study was to perform an analysis of risk factors for self-harm behaviors, to help plan preventive actions..Patients and One questionnaire with specific scales was employed for students, whereas three semi-structured interviews were employed for teachers, all on distress perception and self-harm in school.. Data analysis confirms an association between self- cutting and alcohol use, sexual harassments, school dropout, threatening people, incommunicability with family members and negative relationship with the body and suicide attempts, with a clear tendency for males. In the interviews, teachers highlight self-injury as a dysfunctional relationship with the body and observe several risk markers of psychological distress.. The results confirm the available literature data, while noting that self-harming is a preponderantly male behavior. The results also signal the need to create opportunities to instruct teachers to combat the resistances and stereotypes of psychological distress..

Emotional conditions governing the family and patients’ perceived social support play important roles in the treatment or relapse process of the chronic disease.. The current study aimed to investigate the role of family expressed emotion and perceived social support in prediction of addiction relapse..Patients and The descriptive-correlation method was used in the current study. The study population consisted of the individuals referred to the addiction treatment centers in Ardabil from October 2013 to January 2014. The subjects (n = 80) were randomly selected using cluster sampling method. To collect data, expressed emotion test by Cole and Kazaryan, and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) were used, and the obtained data was analyzed using the Pearson''s correlation coefficient and multiple regression analyses.. Results showed a positive relationship between family expressed emotions and the frequency of relapse (r = 0.26, P = 0.011) and a significant negative relationship between perceived social support and the frequency of relapse (r = -0.34, P = 0.001). Multiple regression analysis also showed that perceived social support from family and the family expressed emotions significantly explained 12% of the total variance of relapse frequency.. These results have implications for addicted people, their families and professionals working in addiction centers to use the emotional potential of families especially their expressed emotions and the perceived social support of addicts to increase the success rate of addiction treatment..

Substance use among young people is a major public health problem in Iran..

The aims of the present study were to determine the prevalence of substance misuse and its determinants in medical sciences students in Tehran, Iran..Patients and

A cross-sectional study was performed on a randomly selected sample of 1992 medical sciences students during 2012-2013. Anonymous, structured questionnaires were distributed among the students in each selected class. Substance misuse was defined according to cultural and epidemiological features. Data analysis was performed using chi-squared test, Fisher’s exact test, and binary logistic regression..

The prevalence of prescription drug misuse, last year alcohol use, and ever illicit substance use was 4.9%, 6.9%, and 2.9%, respectively. The result of multiple logistic regression model showed that being a male (OR = 4.0), hookah use in the last year (OR = 3.2), prescription drug misuse (OR = 3.2), and alcohol use in the last year (OR = 3.3) were associated with the students’ illicit substance use. Last year alcohol use (OR = 5.3), ever illicit substance use (OR = 3.2), and illicit substance use in friends (OR = 2.6) were associated with prescription drug misuse..

Our results suggested that the prevalence of prescription drugs, alcohol and illicit substance use was relatively low, though still significant, among Iranian students, which was strongly associated with family and friends’ use. The findings of this research can be used for planning and evaluating interventions by considering the risk factors and protective factors in Universities..

Suicide attempts are more common among adolescents than other age groups. Although suicide is considered a worldwide problem, but the related factors, to suicidal behavior are different in various cultures.. The purpose of this study is to identify themes that explain suicide attempt process among adolescents in Iran..Patients and This is a qualitative study carried out based on grounded theory. Key informants were 16 adolescents referred to two hospitals in Shiraz after suicide attempts. Also, 4 family members, a nurse, a psychologist, and a psychiatrist participated in this study. Sampling started with purposive sampling method and continued with theoretical sampling. Data were collected using semi-structured in-depth interviews. Data analysis was carried out using Strauss and Corbin approach and constant comparative method until the point of data saturation.. Five main categories, including personal factors and life experiences; family factors, social and educational factors, psychological-emotional problems, and stress control strategies were extracted from the data. The central concept in the data was to escape the painful psychological condition, which was in connection with other concepts describing the process of suicide attempts in adolescents.. This study identified 5 categories of concepts as main themes that can be used to explain suicidal attempt process among Iranian adolescents..

Due to the chronic and recurrent nature of addiction, many people who quit drug addiction may slip back into the pattern of using drugs shortly after the detoxification period. Emotion-regulation strategies and resilience play an important role in preventing the recurrences of substance abuse.. This study aimed to compare the effects of methadone-maintenance therapy (MMT) and interactive therapy (a combination of MMT and cognitive-behavioral therapy) on improving emotion-regulation strategies and resilience among opiate-dependent clients..Patients and This pretest-posttest quasi-experimental study was performed on 60 patients with substance abuse admitted to Methadone Addiction Treatment Centers and Detox Centers in Sari within three months of therapy for their addiction (from October to December 2013). Then, the participants were randomly assigned to two different groups (n = 30) were examined in two groups of 30 people targeted to be available in the selected population. Participants in all three groups, before and after the intervention, filled out the questionnaires of Schutte emotional intelligence scale and Connor-Davidson resiliency questionnaire. Data were analyzed using the analysis of covariance method.. The results showed that an interactive therapy would be significantly more effective than the MMT on improving emotion-regulation strategies and promoting the resilience level among opiate-dependent clients. Moreover, the results showed that cognitive- behavior therapy combined with MMT may improve emotion-regulation strategies, and promote the amount of resiliency and recovery.. The cognitive-behavior therapy combined with MMT can improve emotion-regulation strategies and resiliency and thus prevent the substance-abuse relapse..

Suicide is a modern-age human challenge considered as a social and mental health problem acquiring enormous attention on primary and secondary heath care plans.. The current study aimed to investigate frequency of suicide attempts and related social factors among patients admitted in Hospital of Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences. Patients and This cross-sectional study was descriptive-analytical type carried out on 251 patients admitted at medical centers of Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences after failed suicide attempts. Data collection was done through filling forms.. Average age of the population was 29 ± 11.6 years. Female were more prone to commit suicide whereas the patients had a variety of social lifestyles and crisis such as divorce, drug abuse, and domestic problems. The most frequent method of committing suicide was the use of burning materials.. In reference to the young age of the statistical population of attempters and frequent personal-life crisis among them, educational, welfare and consultation facilities are suggested..

Adolescence and youth are life-threatening stages of development when a range of unsafe behaviors can harmfully affect a person’s health and their social and educational performance.. The present study aimed to determine the incidence and prevalence of high-risk behaviors related to intentional and unintentional harm in adolescents of Zahedan (Iran)..Patients and This cross-sectional study included 1000 randomly selected male and female high school students of Zahedan, Iran. The Persian version of High Risk Behavior Questionnaire and Goldberg’s 28-item General Health Questionnaire were used to collect data. Descriptive statistics (frequency and percentage) was used to analyze data.. The most prevalent behaviors were not wearing seat belt (48%), riding a motorcycle without a helmet (42.3%) and involvement in physical conflicts (38.7%). Both the incidence and prevalence of the studied behaviors were higher in boys than girls. Moreover, greater prevalence of behaviors related to intentional and unintentional harm was observed in subjects with a drug abusing friend or family member.. The incidence and prevalence of high-risk behaviors in the studied population were slightly lower compared to several other parts of the country and some other countries. Nevertheless, since the rates and trend are alarming, sectoral and intersectoral cooperation is indispensable to the implementation of preventive interventions at different levels of society. Such efforts would obviously require the help of experts in various fields and necessitate the assessment of sociocultural features of the population..

Existing evidences suggest the more vulnerability of spouses of drug dependents, in exposure to mental disorders.. This study aimed to evaluate the associated parameters of anxiety and depression among female spouses of male drug dependents..Patients and With a cross-sectional design in 2010, a total of 237 Iranian women were selected and divided into three groups: 1. non-drug-dependent wives who had non-drug-dependent husbands (Group I), 2. non-drug-dependent wives who had drug-dependent husbands (Group II), and 3. drug-dependent wives who had drug-dependent husbands (Group III). Socio-demographic characteristics were collected by a checklist, and the levels of anxiety and depression were measured through the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Linear regression was applied for determination of anxiety and depression predictors.. Mean age of the participants was about 35 years, and mean duration of marriage was 14 years. Drug dependence of the husband (P = 0.010) and lower monthly income of the family (P = 0.007) predicted the higher level of anxiety among the participants, while older age (P = 0.031), shorter marital duration (P = 0.016), and lower educational level (P = 0.045) in addition to spousal drug dependence (P = 0.023), and lower family income (P = 0.014) were significantly associated with higher levels of depression.. Findings of the present study demonstrate that spousal drug dependence and lower monthly income were common predictors of anxiety and depression among spouses of drug dependents in Iran, while older age, shorter marital duration and lower educational level were predictors of depression. However, more research is needed to find casual relationships between spousal drug dependence and mental health in Iran..