Investigating the Factors Affecting Drug Abuse and Addiction with a Grounded Theoretical Approach

Drug addiction is one of the most important issues whose complications are a serious threat to the society. It is one of the four crises of the 21st century affecting all communities across the world. The aim of this study was to investigate the causes and factors affecting drug abuse and addiction with a grounded theory approach.

The present study was conducted in a qualitative manner in Qorveh in 2019. Sixteen individuals with a history of drug abuse with at least 4 years of dependency were selected by purposive sampling method. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data. MAXQDA software was used to facilitate the coding process and data analysis.

Factors influencing drug abuse and addiction were: a) predisposing factors including individual and interpersonal factors; b) detective factors including family factors; and c) continuing and aggravating factors including social-cultural and environmental factors.

Numerous factors are involved in the occurrence of addiction and drug abuse, and identifying them in different environments, cultures and societies provides the possibility of developing preventive practices and increasing public awareness.