Relationship Between Problem-Solving Skill and Successful Quitting of Substance Use Disorder and Psychoactive Drugs in Isfahan, Iran

Substance use disorder (SUD) is a disease in the treatment of which the biological and medical methods are emphasized, but social factors also play an effective role. This research has tried to investigate the relationship between problem-solving skill and successful quitting of SUD.

This was a causal-comparative research in which two groups, namely, drug addicts with successful quitting (n = 222) and those with unsuccessful quitting (n = 222) selected by multi-stage random sampling were compared. The research tool for measuring the problem solving skill was the Social Problem Solving Scale of D'Zurilla et al. (2002).

The findings showed that the mean problem-solving skill score and its five components were significantly higher in the successful quitting group than in the unsuccessful group. Based on the logistic regression results, the problem-solving skill (B=0.271, Wald=110.490 Sig=0.000, EXP (B) =1.76, Cox & Snell=0.457) will increase the chance of successful quitting 1.76 times and can explain 0.457 of the changes in the dependent variable.

It can be concluded that psychosocial factors are also effective in the treatment of the substance use disorder. This means that paying more serious attention to these factors will help to alleviate one of the basic social and public health problems of the society.