The Comparison of Family Communication Patterns and Emotional Distress Tolerance in Substance-dependent and Healthy Individuals

The current study aimed to compare family communication patterns and emotional distress tolerance in substance-dependent and healthy subjects. The method of this research was causative-comparative. The statistical population of the research included all normal males as well as substance-dependent males referred to addiction treatment centers of the city of Kermanshah in the year 2017. The sample involved 146 substance-dependent and healthy participants consisted of two groups of 73 people, and were selected by convenient sampling method. The groups were matched in terms of age and education. The Kouner and Fitzpatrick’s Revised Family Communication Pattern (RFCP; 2002) and Simmons and Gaher’s Distress Tolerance Scale (DTS; 2005) were used to collect data. The results showed significant relations between substance-dependent subjects and healthy individuals in terms of family communication patterns and distress tolerance. Substance-dependent subjects had a more consistent orientation in terms of family communication patterns and lower distress tolerance than healthy individuals, but healthy participants had a higher orientation to dialogue and distress tolerance than substance-dependent individuals. These findings suggest that these components are among the underlying factors for the tendency toward addiction, and by becoming aware of these findings one can proceed more effectively to prevent and treat addiction.