Factors affecting substance use relapse among Iranian addicts

Substance use relapse after treatment is one of the most important aspects of addiction. The present study aimed to investigate the factors affecting the substance use relapse among Iranian addicts.

This cross‑sectional study was conducted in 2019 on 396 addicts referring to the addiction treatment centers in Hamadan, who were selected using a cluster random sampling method. The data were collected by a two‑section questionnaire (demographic variables and risk factors for substance abuse recurrence). The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and logistic regression analysis.

The participants’ mean (standard deviation) age was 36.56 (8.8) years, and 84.6% of the participants had a history of relapse. The logistic regression analysis revealed that marital status (odds ratio [OR] = 2.594; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.472–4.570), personal willingness (OR = 8.186; 95% CI: 1.875–35.738), pleasure (OR = 2.738; 95% CI: 1.122–6.679), drug availability (OR = 3.392; 95% CI: 1.023–11.247), family disputes (OR = 4.583; 95% CI: 1.345–15.609), an addicted friend (OR = 2.693; 95% CI: 1.014–7.157), and close addicted relatives (OR = 3.513;95% CI: 1.193–10.348) were the main predictors of addiction relapse (P < 0.05).

The present study confirmed the effect of several factors (namely demographic, individual, interpersonal, environmental, and behavioral) on the substance use relapse. Accordingly, designing and implementing some interventions based on the findings of the present study may contribute to preventing substance use relapse.