فصلنامه اعتیاد پژوهی
پیاپی 64 (تابستان 1401)

The present study aimed to conduct a meta-analysis of factors affecting drug trafficking and strategies to deal with it from 2006 to 2017 in Tehran.

The research method was meta-analysis. A total of 18 studies in the field of drug trafficking were identified through searching on the Internet in domestic databases and in organizations and universities in Tehran, and finally, dissertations, projects, and articles that met the necessary criteria and information for the meta-analysis were selected.

The conducted studies had fundamental problems in terms of sampling considerations, statistical tests, and methodology. Theoretically, the level of analysis of some of the theories used in the theoretical foundations of the research was not consistent with the variables studied in the research. The results of the meta-analysis section showed that the combined effect size in the field of drug trafficking in the fixed model and the randomized model was 0.53 and 0.56, respectively, but in a separate survey, the effect size of the category of the environmental-social factors was higher than that of the disciplinary factors.

Given the theoretical and methodological weakness of the conducted studies, it is important and necessary to have a specific theoretical framework for hypothesis-based studies, as well as methodological considerations. Also, based on the larger effect size of environmental-social factors compared to disciplinary factors, it can be said that this finding is somewhat indicative of the underdevelopment of Tehran. This underdevelopment and its results along with the natural, geographical, and political characteristics of the city of Tehran (centrality) have finally led citizens and other immigrants to drug trafficking.

The current study aimed to identify the educational needs of prison staff in the field of drugs and psychedelics.

The research was applied-exploratory with a case study approach. The statistical sample was in 4 prisons in Tehran, including experts and heads of prisons (N=11) and the deputies and specialist (N=52) separated by job field that were selected purposefully and snowballed until theoretical saturation. The data were collected using a semi-structured interview and 4 focus group sessions.

26 educational needs for employees in the dimensions of attitude, knowledge, and skills and 4 educational needs for managers were obtained. Among the staff's needs were familiarity with psychoactive substances and their side effects, methods of discovery and embedding, facial skills to prevent addiction, self-control, behavior with prisoners, psychotherapy, and understanding of the harms of drug use. Managers' needs were familiarity with laws, addiction treatment, prevention skills and understanding of addiction as a disease.

Managers and staff shared the need for "methods of addiction prevention" and it is necessary to plan and design the training course for staff taking into account the identified knowledge, attitudinal, and skill needs.

The current study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of behavioral family therapy on substance use craving in substance use quitting adolescents.

The present study was a single-case experimental study of the multiple baseline type. Using the purposeful sampling method, five adolescents and their families were selected in the city of Ahvaz. Behavioral family therapy was implemented in fourteen 90-minute sessions, and three phases of baseline, intervention, and follow-up were performed for adolescents and their families. Adolescents completed the craving beliefs questionnaire (CBQ), and the data were analyzed by visual drawing method, stable change index, and recovery percentage formula.

The results indicated that behavioral family therapy significantly reduced substance use craving (recovery percentage = 49.22).

Based on the results of the present study, behavioral family therapy can be effective in changing dysfunctional interactions of the family system and decreasing substance abuse in adolescents, and therapists can use this intervention to improve substance use disorder.

The present research aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of self-healing approach-based therapy on self-efficacy and substance-related beliefs in substance-dependent individuals undergoing quitting.

The current research was a semi-experimental study with a pretest-posttest and follow-up design with a control group. The statistical population of the study included all substance-dependent men undergoing quitting in 2020. Among them, 30 people were recruited by convenient sampling method and were randomly assigned to two experimental (N=15) and control groups (N=15). Participants completed the questionnaires of self-efficacy and substance-related beliefs in the pretest, posttest, and follow-up. The therapeutic intervention was implemented according to the protocol of Latifi, Marvi, and Loyd (2017) for fourteen 60-minute sessions on the experimental group. The data were analyzed by repeated measure analysis of variance.

The results of this study showed that self-healing approach-based therapy significantly affected self-efficacy and substance-related beliefs in substance-dependent individuals undergoing quitting, and this effectiveness was stable during the time.

Based on the results of the present study, self-healing therapy can be used as one of the new positivist approaches to increase self-efficacy, reduce maladaptive substance-related beliefs, and prevent relapse of substance-dependent individuals in treatment centers related to drug withdrawal with relatively stable effects to improve self-care skills.

The present study aimed to investigate the situation of strategic management of primary prevention of addiction with a cultural approach in terms of level of importance (applicability) and current situation (level of implementation).

The method of the present study was of descriptive-analytical and survey type, which was conducted using a researcher-made questionnaire. The statistical population of this research included all cultural and primary prevention of addiction experts in the member organizations and related to the anti-narcotics headquarters in 2018 nationwide. Among the cultural and prevention experts in the capital cities of all provinces of the country located in the key institutions in the fields of culture and addiction prevention, 275 people were selected based on the sample size estimation table of Krejcie and Morgan using a proportionate stratified sampling method. In order to measure the validity and reliability of the questionnaire, qualitative content validity and Cronbach's alpha coefficient were used.

The results of data analysis showed that when comparing the eight strategies in terms of the current situation (level of implementation) and the level of importance (applicability), there was a significant difference in favor of the level of importance (applicability). In addition, given the higher average ratings of the level of importance (applicability) of the eight strategies than the average ratings of the current situation (level of implementation), it can be said that the operational status of the eight strategies is not at a favorable level.

According to the results of the study, it can be said that addiction prevention requires cultural management through which we can take transformational steps to reduce cultural poverty in society and increase the socio-cultural approach to addiction prevention in the target foci of society.

The present study aimed to perform a phenomenological analysis of employees of helping professions involved in addiction.

The present research was a qualitative phenomenological study. The statistical population of this study included all employees of helping professions involved in the category of addiction (including counselors, psychologists, social workers, doctors, etc.) who were engaged in providing services to substance-dependent individuals or their families in Shiraz in 2021. Among them, 27 people were selected using the purposeful sampling method. An in-depth interview was used to collect data and the data obtained from the interview were analyzed using the thematic analysis method.

The results indicated the extraction of 130 concepts from the experiences of employees of helping professions, which were categorized into 20 sub-categories that were finally classified in 6 general categories of all-round support, awareness and training of necessary skills, the tasks of organs and specialists, psychological services, having the will and motivation to withdrawal and medical services.

Families with a substance-dependent parent need professional care and support in the mentioned areas, and organizations and helping individuals need to design and implement appropriate interventions in these areas.

The present study aimed to compare the effectiveness of lifestyle-based therapy, acceptance and commitment, and compassion on substance abstinence self-efficacy and quality of life in opioid-dependent individuals.

The research method was semi-experimental with a pretest-posttest and follow-up design with a control group. The statistical population of the study included all opioid-dependent patients in the addiction treatment medium-term accommodation centers of Najaf Abad city in 2019. Among them, 40 people were selected by the convenient sampling method and randomly assigned to three experimental groups and one control group. The experimental groups were trained in eight 90-minute sessions and the control group did not receive any training during the treatment. The evaluation was performed in three stages: pretest, posttest, and three-month follow-up with two scales of substance abstinence self-efficacy and quality of life. The data were analyzed by repeated measure analysis of variance.

The results showed that all three methods of treatment significantly increased substance abstinence self-efficacy, and this difference still maintained at the three-month follow-up stage, but they had no significant impact on quality of life. In addition, no significant difference was observed between the effectiveness of three treatment methods on substance abstinence self-efficacy and quality of life.

The aforementioned therapeutic interventions can be used as effective methods to increase substance abstinence self-efficacy, but none of these interventions is an elective treatment.

The present study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of cognitive rehabilitation on the executive functions of memory, cognitive flexibility, and inhibitory control.

The method of the present study was semi-experimental with pretest-posttest design and a control group. The statistical population of the present study included all substance-dependent men referring to addiction clinics in the city of Tabriz, among whom 30 people were selected by multi-stage cluster sampling and assigned to two experimental and control groups. The experimental group underwent cognitive rehabilitation for 10 sessions. To collect the data, the go /no-go task, the Wisconsin card sorting test, and the direct and inverse word spacing test were used. Data were analyzed using a multivariate analysis of covariance.

The results of the present study showed that cognitive rehabilitation significantly affected the executive functions of memory, cognitive flexibility, and inhibitory control, but it had no significant effect on the perseveration error component of the Wisconsin card sorting test.

According to the findings of the present study, cognitive rehabilitation can be used to treat addiction and the rehabilitation of substance-dependent individuals.

The present study aimed to determine the effectiveness of narrative therapy on psychological capital and a sense of coherence among spouses of individuals undergoing withdrawal.

This research was a semi-experimental study with a pretest-posttest and follow-up design with a control group. The statistical population of this study included spouses of individuals undergoing withdrawal in Tehran in 2018. Among them, 30 individuals were selected by convenient sampling method and randomly assigned to two experimental and control groups. The participants of both groups completed the psychological capital and a sense of coherence questionnaires in the pretest, posttest and follow-up. The experimental group participated in 8 sessions of narrative therapy intervention, and after the completion of the therapy sessions, the individuals of both groups underwent a posttest. After two months, a follow-up test was also conducted. The data were analyzed using analysis of variance with mixed repeated measures.

The results showed that narrative therapy had a significant effect on improving psychological capital and a sense of coherence in spouses of individuals undergoing withdrawal.

Narrative therapy plays an important role in the psychological capital and sense of coherence of spouses of individuals undergoing withdrawal and establishing proper family relationships. Also, this method can be used to increase the mental health of spouses of individuals undergoing withdrawal.

The present study aimed to predict depression based on childhood trauma, impulsivity, and cognitive emotion regulation in substance-dependent individuals.

The method of the present study was descriptive-correlational. The statistical population of the research included all substance-dependent individuals in addiction treatment centers in the city of Tehran in 2020-2021. Among them, 300 people were selected by convenient sampling method and completed the Beck depression questionnaire-second version, the childhood trauma questionnaire-short form, the Barrett impulsivity scale, and the cognitive emotion regulation questionnaire- short version. Simultaneous regression analysis was used to analyze the data.

The results of the research showed that two components of childhood trauma, including emotional abuse and physical abuse, as well as two components of motor impulsivity and non-planning impulsiveness positively predicted depression. Also, three cognitive emotion regulation strategies, including two maladaptive strategies (self-blame and catastrophizing), positively and one adaptive strategy (refocusing on planning) negatively predicted depression.

According to the results of the present study, the components of the variables of childhood trauma, impulsivity, and emotion regulation strategies are the predictors of depression. Therefore, paying attention to these variables is of particular importance in preventing depression.

The present study aimed to determine the effect of cognitive-behavioral therapy based on Marlatt's model on craving and addiction quitting self-efficacy in patients under treatment with methadone.

This study was semi-experimental with pretest-posttest design with a control group. The statistical population included all patients under treatment with methadone referring to Mahan center of Bojnourd city in 2021. Among them, 30 people were selected by convenient sampling method and randomly assigned to experimental (N=15) and control (N=15) groups. The instruments used in this study were the periodical craving questionnaire and the quitting self-efficacy questionnaire. Cognitive behavioral therapy based on Marlatt's model was performed on the experimental group for twelve 90-minute sessions with a frequency of two sessions per week. Data were analyzed by multivariate analysis of covariance.

The results of multivariate analysis of covariance showed that there was a significant difference between the two groups, and cognitive behavioral therapy based on Marlatt's model reduced craving and increase the quitting self-efficacy in patients under treatment with methadone.

It can be concluded that the cognitive-behavioral program based on Marlatt's model can help improve the effectiveness of methadone therapy while improving the capabilities of patients and play a preventive role in disease relapse.

The current study aimed to determine the effectiveness of the twelve-step training of the association of narcotics anonymous on resilience and self-efficacy of members of the association of narcotics anonymous in the city of Qom.

This study was semi-experimental with pretest-posttest design with a control group. The statistical population included members of the association of narcotics anonymous in Qom. Among them, 30 people were selected using the convenient sampling method and randomly assigned to two experimental (N=15) and control (N=15) groups. The participants of both groups completed the resilience questionnaire and the self-efficacy questionnaire in the pretest and posttest. The sessions of twelve-step training of the association of narcotics anonymous were administered to the experimental group in twelve 90-minute sessions. Data were analyzed by multivariate analysis of covariance.

The results showed that there was a significant difference between the two groups, and the twelve-step training program could increase the resilience and self-efficacy of members of the association of narcotics anonymous.

This research has provided experimental support for the treatment of twelve-step training of the association of narcotics anonymous in increasing resilience and self-efficacy of substance-dependent individuals who are in recovery from substance use disorder; therefore, this treatment is a suitable method for treating substance-dependent individuals.

The present study aimed to perform a qualitative study of the factors affecting relapse to drug abuse and addiction with a grounded theory approach.

The method of the current research was the grounded theory qualitative method. The statistical population of the current study included all individuals referring to an addiction treatment clinic in the city of Qorveh in 2020 who had an abstinence period for at least 4 months after a period of drug use, but relapsed again. Among them, 17 people were selected by purposeful sampling method and subjected to semi-structured interviews. In order to facilitate the coding and analysis process, MAXQDA software was used.

Factors affecting relapse to drug abuse and addiction were identified and extracted, which include: a) underlying factors, including individual, psychological, and interpersonal factors; b) revealing factors, including family factors; c) sustainable factors, including social, cultural, and environmental factors; and d) aggravating factors, including therapeutic factors.

Several factors play a role in relapse to drug abuse and addiction, which by identifying these factors in different environments, cultures, and societies, preventive measures can be established and developed and public awareness can be created.

The current study aimed to determine the effectiveness of compassion-based therapy on distress tolerance and relationship beliefs of women with substance-dependent spouses.

The research method was semi-experimental with a pretest-posttest design with a control group. The statistical population of the research included all women with substance-dependent spouses referring to addiction treatment centers in Dezful city in 2021. Among them, 30 people were selected by the convenient sampling method and were randomly divided into two experimental (N=15) and control (N=15) groups. The participants of both groups completed the distress tolerance and relationship beliefs questionnaires in the pretest and posttest. Compassion-based therapy was administered according to the protocol of Paul Gilbert and Russell Colts (translated by Esbati, 2017) on the experimental group in eight 90-minute sessions with a frequency of two sessions per week. Data were analyzed by multivariate analysis of covariance.

The results of multivariate covariance analysis showed that there was a significant difference between the two groups, and compassion therapy increased distress tolerance and improved relationship beliefs of women with substance-dependent spouses.

According to the obtained results, experts in the field of addiction can enhance capabilities related to distress tolerance and relationship beliefs by using compassion therapy method.

The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of watching movies focusing on drug abuse along with a group discussion on assertiveness, self-control, and attitude toward addiction.

The current research was of a semi-experimental type with a pretest-posttest design with a control group. The statistical population included all young boys of Gonabad city in 2019. Among them, 30 people were selected by the convenient sampling method and randomly divided into two experimental (N=15) and control (N=15) groups. The participants of both groups completed the self-control, attitudes toward addiction, and assertiveness questionnaires in the pretest and posttest. The intervention of movies focusing on drug abuse along with group discussion was implemented on the experimental group in eight 120-minute sessions. Data were analyzed by multivariate analysis of covariance.

The results showed that the intervention of movies focusing on drug abuse along with group discussion was effective on attitude change and assertiveness (assertive expression and assertive rejection) of young boys toward addiction, but it had no significant effect on self-control and assertive request of these individuals.

Experts in the field of addiction prevention should keep in mind that movies are more welcomed than documentaries and cartoons and are a more suitable tool for addiction prevention, and counselors and psychologists can use this method to prevent youth addiction.