The Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on Alexithymia and Interpersonal Problems of Men with Substance Use Disorder

Alexithymia is prevalent in several psychological disorders, including depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and substance use disorder. Due to the prevalence of alexithymia and interpersonal problems among people with substance use disorder, this study aimed to determine the effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on alexithymia and interpersonal problems in men with substance use disorders.

Methods and Materials: 

The method of the present study was quasi-experimental with pre-test, post-test design and two-month follow-up with control group. The statistical population was men with substance abuse who in 2019 had referred to private addiction treatment centers in Tehran for treatment. Two centers were chosen for convenience and among them 42 subjects who fill informed consent were selected and randomly assigned in experimental and control group. Data were collected by Bagby et al.chr('39')s Toronto Alexithymian Scale (1994) and Barkham et al.’s Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (1996) in three stages of evaluation. The research findings were finally analyzed using repeated measure analysis of variance test using SPSS software version 22.

The results of data analysis showed that acceptance and commitment therapy was effective on alexithymia and interpersonal problems (p<.05). In addition, the results of the follow-up phase also showed that the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy on alexithymia and interpersonal problems in men with substance use disorder was consistent.

According to these results, addiction therapists can use acceptance and commitment therapy to reduce mood disorders and interpersonal problems in people with a history of addiction.