Comparison of the Effectiveness of Motivational Interviewing and Matrix Treatment with Cognitive-Behavioral Approach on the Aggression of Marijuana Users

 Addiction is a common scourge that neglects it and brings harmful consequences such as the destruction of socio-economic resources and a threat to social security. From 2006 to 2015, 23% was added to the number of drug users in the world. This is while the estimated global prevalence rate was around 9.4% in 2006 and reached 39.5% in 2015. Deaths due to drug use in 2015 compared to 2014 increased by 6.8%. More than 3 thousand 190 addicts have died due to abuse. In addition to the consequences and changes that it has directly on the consumer, they also have secondary social costs such as disruption in the family, in education, work life, and the occurrence of various types of violence and risky sexual behaviors. Numerous studies have shown that one of the most important and common psychological disorders and injuries that may affect drug addicts is a lack of anger control. Some research findings have illustrated the relationship between aggressive behavior and substance use, a relationship that is deep, costly, and undeniable. But any discussion on the relationship between drugs and aggression and violence must begin with a definition of this concept. Aggression is a behavior whose purpose is to harm oneself or others, that is, a traumatic behavior is considered aggression if it is done intentionally to harm another person or oneself. Aggressive behaviors may manifest in different ways. During their research, Bass and Perry concluded that human aggression has three dimensions (instrumental, emotional, and cognitive). The instrumental or movement dimension represents verbal or physical aggression and its purpose is to harm others. The emotional and emotional dimension refers to the internal conditions of the organism as well as the readiness for physiological and emotional arousal and is manifested in the form of anger. This dimension is responsible for the preparation of aggressive behavior. The cognitive dimension, which is called hostility, causes feelings of selfishness and malice towards others. These dimensions can provide the basis for the occurrence of all kinds of physical and psychological injuries. Motivational counseling is a client-centered method, a guide to strengthening the internal motivation for change, through discovering, identifying, and solving doubts and ambivalence. The use of motivational interviewing is developing rapidly in the world so, in three years, the number of publications in this field has approximately doubled. Studies show that the motivational interview method is superior to traditional training and treatment recommendations for a wide range of psychological problems, including addiction. Another promising therapeutic approach in recent years is the matrix model. Matrix treatment is a non-pharmacological, outpatient treatment method for drug addiction. Matrix therapeutic approach is based on the cognitive approach. Considering that the effectiveness of two treatment models on aggression was shown in different researches and separately, and in addition, the review of previous research showed that no study compared the effectiveness of these two treatments at the same time. For this reason, the current study tries to investigate the effectiveness of these treatments on the aggression of marijuana addicts. Considering the importance of marijuana addiction treatment and the age range of users, the variable effect of depression, and the effectiveness of intervention approaches, the researcher was looking for an answer to the question of whether the effectiveness of motivational interviewing and matrix treatment is different from the cognitive-behavioral approach on aggression?

The current research method was semi-experimental with a pre-test-post-test design with three groups (two experimental groups, one motivational interview treatment group, one matrix treatment group with a cognitive-behavioral approach, and one control group). Men addicted to marijuana were in Shiraz city in the second quarter of 2019. The statistical sample was selected by a targeted sampling method from people addicted to marijuana who were hospitalized and under treatment, referring to Maharhari Hospital in Shiraz. People were randomly assigned to three groups (15 people in each group). The aggression questionnaire by Bass and Perry (1992) was used to collect information. To analyze the data, univariate and multivariate analysis of covariance was used.

The results showed that matrix therapy and motivational interviewing had a positive and significant effect on improving aggression (0.001), but matrix therapy and motivational interviewing did not have different effectiveness. Also, the results of the covariance analysis with the adjustment of the pre-test effect showed that there is a significant difference between the three groups.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of motivational interviewing and matrix therapy with a cognitive-behavioral approach on the aggression of marijuana users. The results showed that there is a difference between the effectiveness of motivational interviewing and matrix with a cognitive-behavioral approach on aggression in marijuana users. The results showed that these treatments had a positive effect on improving aggression. Also, the results showed that matrix therapy and motivational interviewing had significant differences from the control group, but matrix therapy and motivational interviewing did not have different effectiveness. According to the findings of the present study, it can be concluded that both treatments can be used as complementary treatments for marijuana addicts. One of the limitations of this research is that the results can only be generalized to marijuana addicts in Shiraz, so the generalization of the results to other cities should be done with caution. Another limitation was the impossibility of a longitudinal study, because due to the high cost, the difficulty of work, high dropout of abusers' samples, and their lack of commitment to participate in the study, the study was conducted cross-sectionally, therefore, if the study is conducted longitudinally, more accurate and important results will be obtained. Each family with its problems is influential in the treatment process; at the beginning of family therapy, based on the main problem (codependence, extreme control, limited vision of illness, uncertainty, and need for family therapy), treatment planning should be done. Wider and more scientific use of psychologists and psychiatrists in tandem to solve the problem in the form of simultaneous psychotherapy and drug therapy in camps and centers for de-addiction and emphasizing the follow-up of treatment should be given serious attention in these centers.