Understanding and Recognizing the Problems and Needs of Stimulant-Dependent Adolescents

The current research was conducted aiming at understanding and recognizing the problems and needs of stimulant-dependent male adolescents.

This research was qualitative and a thematic analysis. The study population included all stimulant-dependent male adolescents, which based on the purposeful sampling method and using the data saturation technique, 12 adolescents were selected from the public and non-public addiction treatment centers of Tehran and Alborz in 2019 and 2020. Data collection was performed with a semi-structured in-depth interview method, and the data were then analyzed using Clark and Brown’s (2006) method.

Based on the data analysis, the needs of adolescents were extracted in three categories of general needs (including the need for family support, parenting skills training, healthy communication with friends and peers, formal education and life skills, and recreation), rehabilitation needs (including the need for the support of friends and family, providing services appropriate to the adolescent period, following up on health status, having a goal, hope, respect, and motivation), and post-rehabilitation needs (including the need for influential individuals and continuous and long-term social care and support ) as main and secondary themes.

Based on the study results, it is necessary to establish and expand specialized service centers with trained specialist staff familiar with the needs and issues of substance-dependent adolescents in order to provide psycho-social services to adolescents and their families, as well as literacy and skill training programs.