Self-awareness, coping strategies and related factors among patients attending substance treatment program.

Abstract

Background : Treatment of drug dependence requires understanding of self-awareness and coping strategies for drug dependence which are key factors to facilitate drug dependent person to stop using drug.

Objective : To study self-awareness and coping strategies as well as relevant factors among patients under drug dependence treatment at Thanyarak Institute.

Design : A cross – sectional descriptive study.

Setting : Thanyarak institute.

Materials and Methods : Sample group consisted of 110 drug-dependent persons who were on treatment at Thanyarak Institute. Self responding questionnaire was used to collect data relating to: 1) Personal information: 2) Self-awareness: 3) Coping strategies. Statistics used in this study was descriptive while Chi-square was used for testing factors correlating to self-awareness and Pearson’s correlation was used to define correlation between self-awareness and coping strategies in each respect.

Results : In all, 54.5% of the subjects showed self-awareness of the medium level. Factors correlated to self-awareness included use of met-amphetamine and the pattern of treatment. Most of the subjects chose to confront the problem by avoidance at medium level, by focusing on problem solution at medium level and by seeking for social support at high level. When correlation between variables was analyzed, it appeared that self awareness correlates with coping strategies by focusing on problem solution and seeking for social support but not by avoiding the problem.

Conclusion : Persons under drug dependence treatment program did not show self-awareness at high level and applied coping strategies by seeking for social support at high level and focusing on problem solutions and seeking for social support.