Original Research Article - (2023) Volume 9, Issue 1
Received: 02-Jan-2023, Manuscript No. IPJHRV-23-15799; Editor assigned: 04-Jan-2023, Pre QC No. IPJHRV-23-15799 (PQ); Reviewed: 18-Jan-2023, QC No. IPJHRV-23-15799; Revised: 23-Jan-2023, Manuscript No. IPJHRV-23-15799 (R); Published: 30-Jan-2023, DOI: 10.21767/IPJHRV.23.09.001
Purpose: The purpose of the present Research is to Research mental health indicators in the clients of addiction treatment centers in Tehran.
Method: The present Research is a cross-sectional descriptive Research; the population of the present Research consists of all the people hospitalized in the addiction treatment centers of Tehran, from which 120 people were selected as a sufficient sample size using available sampling method. The instrument of the current research is the cross-cutting symptom measure.
Results: The mental health status of all patients in addiction treatment centers in Tehran, in all 13 scales of the current research instrument (depression, anger, mania, anxiety, somatic symptoms, suicidal thoughts, psychosis, sleep problems, memory, repetitive thoughts and behaviours, dissociation, personality functions and substance use) are at a mild and severe level. And a significant percentage of these people need counselling or psychotherapy services.
Discussion: According to the findings of the present research, psychological services can be taken to benefit people with substance use disorder from counselling and psychotherapy services, so that finally the percentage of returning to use can be reduced.
Mental health; Clients; Addiction; Cross-cutting symptoms measure; Human immunodeficiency virus
According to the definition of the World Health Organization, health is physical well-being, psychological well-being and social efficiency, and not just the absence of disease or disability; Also, mental health includes psychological well-being, perceived self-efficacy, autonomy, empowerment, and self-actualization of the individual, which each of these components has a significant contribution to the mental health of individuals and can affect a person’s daily life and mental functions and influence him socially. It should also be kept in mind that having mental health does not simply mean being free from mental disorders, and mental health experts always emphasize that even mild psychological problems such as stress, depression, and persistent mental preoccupation are health threatening factors. They are psychological, according to what was mentioned and with emphasis on the evidence obtained from various studies on the mental health of different groups, the results of these studies show that almost half of the world’s population is affected by problems, injuries and psychological disorders, and these problems have affected the relationships, ability, and daily life performance of these people. Also, according to the definition of the American Psychiatric Association, mental disorder is a syndrome that causes impairment in people’s daily academic and social functioning. Since if people’s psychological problems and injuries are not intervened in the right situation and time, they can lead to the occurrence of mental disorders, it is necessary to investigate psychological problems with an early investigation and with a preventive perspective in people to prevent any mental disorders in them [1-5].
According to the definition of the revised 5th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, drug addiction or substance abuse is considered a mental disorder, which is characterized by compulsion to abuse drugs. This disorder with biological, psychological and social dimensions is considered as one of the social dilemmas in all societies. Therefore, the use of drugs in the long term leads to many psychological, biological and social damages for people. And this issue has caused that the multi-faceted investigation of this problem has always been one of the priorities of different societies, and specialists in this field are always looking for therapeutic solutions, especially preventive solutions for the occurrence of these problems. Therefore, the importance of this field is also evident in research and scientific studies, and researchers always seek to investigate the factors involved in the occurrence and prevention of this disorder.
The psychological-personality characteristics of drug users are not solely caused by drug use and experts have always emphasized the mutual influence of personality characteristics and addiction [6]. People with the third substance abuse disorder have had numerous psychological and personality disorders before the onset of this disorder, and addiction has caused some of these injuries and disorders to become more severe.
Considering the above, it should be mentioned that since drug addiction or drug abuse is one of the mental disorders, it is affected by psychological trauma factors and psychological and personality disorders play a significant role in the prevention, etiology and treatment of this disorder [7]. In this regard, the examination of mental health indicators in third parties who use drugs can play a significant role in the diagnosis, etiology and treatment of this disorder. In line with the above, it should also be mentioned that the American Psychiatric Association, as one of the key and important associations related to mental disorders, has focused on the prevention of mental disorders as one of its duties and the specialized working groups of this association always place increasing emphasis on the prevention of mental disorders in addition to diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of mental disorders.
Since the prevention of mental disorders is a more efficient and cost-effective solution than intervention after the occurrence of mental disorders, experts in behavioural sciences and psychology always seek to compile and design valid screening questionnaires are so that they can be used to screen and separate psychological problems and psychological disorders between two normative groups and those in need of intervention [8]. When a questionnaire is used with the purpose of screening in a large statistical population, it is necessary that this questionnaire, in addition to having the desired accuracy regarding the screening of two normative target groups and in need of intervention, also has desirable psychometric properties and, most importantly, should be short due to the wideness of the target community.
Hence, the revised 5th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which was published by the American Psychiatric Association in 2022, in its third section, the assessment section, introduced a tool for screening psychological symptoms called the scale The complications of transverse cutting (CCSM) have been discussed. This scale has 23 items and measures psychologically significant problems. The areas of this scale are summarized in 13 areas, which include depression, anger, mania, anxiety, physical complications, suicidal thoughts, psychosis, sleep problems, memory, repetitive thoughts and behaviors, disintegration, personality functions and substance use. When answering each of these items, the subject should answer according to the intensity that that symptom has bothered them in the last two weeks. Also, this scale has had good validity and reliability in the research conducted [9].
In line with the review of the internal research background, we can refer to the title of examining the mental health status and quality of life of addicts who referred to transitional and methadone treatment centers in Sari city in 2013, and the results of their research showed, the mental health and quality of life of the researched samples are not very favourable and these people are prone to other mental disorders as well. Also, in another research, in their research titled “Psychological Paradise and its Relationship with Quality of Life in Drug Addicts” They came to the conclusion that due to people’s return to substance abuse and the inability to quit in most addicts, the treatment team should identify the common characteristics and personality traits of these people and improve the mental health and quality of life of addicts [10]. Also, in the research of Sahib and colleagues (2018) under the title of examining the mental health status of injection drug addicts in day care centers of East Azerbaijan province, the results of the research showed that the high prevalence of mental disorders among drug addicts can lead to difficulty in permanent abstinence as well as an increase in risky and antisocial behaviours. Also, in order to examine the background of foreign research, we can refer to study titled, Prevalence of mental health related disorders in people with third substance and alcohol use disorder, whose research results showed that people with third substance and alcohol use disorder more than Normal people are prone to psychological disorders.
Also, the research of under the title of effects of cannabis drug on the brain structure, performance and cognition of people with third substance use disorder showed that people with a third history of substance use have low levels of mental health and health. Similarly, in another study conducted by under the title of examining self-efficacy, coping skills and personality disorders in drug users, it was found that people who tend to use drugs show poor self-efficacy and coping skills. Therefore, the current research, emphasizing the screening of psychological problems of people with third substance use disorder, tries to examine the mental health indicators in the clients of addiction treatment centres in Tehran, and the question of the current research is as follows:
How is the mental health status of individuals with substance use disorder and human immunodeficiency virus?
The current research is a cross-sectional descriptive study. Descriptive research includes a set of methods whose purpose is to describe the conditions or phenomena under investigation, the implementation of descriptive research can help to better understand the existing conditions. The cross-sectional descriptive research method is carried out in order to identify one or more attributes or variables at a specific point in time. The population of the present study consists of all the people hospitalized in the addiction treatment centers of Tehran city, among them 120 people as a sufficient sample size among the people who were hospitalized in the addiction treatment centres of the 5th district of Tehran in November 1401 using sampling method. Available targets were selected.
The tool of the current research is the cross-sectional complications scale, which has 23 items and 13 domains and includes depression (2 items), anger (1 item), mania (2 items), anxiety (3 items), physical complications (2 items), Suicidal thoughts (1 item), psychosis (2 items), sleep problems (1 item), memory (1 item), repetitive thoughts and behaviours (2 items), disintegration (1 item), personality functions (2 items) and substance use (3 items). After being informed about the purpose of the study, these people answered the 23 items of the current research tool with full knowledge. Obtaining a score of 2 or higher in each of the scales, except for psychosis, suicidal thoughts, and drug use, in which the cut-off score is 1 indicates that the person needs further investigation. The most recent version of this scale was published in 2022 in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
The data of the present research is the result of the cross-sectional side effects questionnaire on 120 patients of addiction treatment centers in Tehran; the age range of the research samples was 18 to 60 years and their average age is 32.7. 42.7% of the samples were stimulant users, 44.7% were drug users, and 12.6% were cannabis users (Tables 1 and 2)
| Standard Deviation | Mean | Scale |
|---|---|---|
| 2/04 | 4/13 | Depression |
| 1/34 | 1/63 | Anger |
| 2/49 | 3/46 | Mania |
| 3/01 | 4/21 | Anxiety |
| 2/44 | 3/3 | Somatic Symptoms |
| 1/47 | 1/21 | Suicidal Ideation |
| 2/23 | 1/61 | Psychosis |
| 1/45 | 1/66 | Sleep Problems |
| 1/3 | 0/91 | Memory |
| 2/05 | 2/83 | Repetitive Behavior and Thoughts |
| ¼ | 1/45 | Dissociation |
| 2/29 | 2/45 | Personality Functions |
| 2/88 | 4/73 | Substance Use |
Table 1: Descriptive statistics related to the axes of the cross-cutting symptom scale in the clients of addiction treatment centers in Tehran.
According to the results of Table 2, it can be said that since the frequency of the scales of depression, anxiety, physical complications, repetitive thoughts and behaviours, personality functions, and substance use in both mild and severe levels is higher compared to other scales, These psychological problems are more common among people with third substance use disorder than other mentioned scales and these people need psychological interventions such as counselling and psychotherapy in these areas.
| Severe | Mild | At Risk | Normal | Scale |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25% | 53/3% | 6/7% | 15% | Depression |
| 6/7% | 28/3% | 15/8% | 49/2% | Anger |
| 22/4% | 35/9% | 17/5% | 24/2% | Mania |
| 28/3% | 50% | 7/5% | 14/2% | Anxiety |
| 57/5% | 40% | 6/7% | 10/8% | Somatic Symptoms |
| 13/4% | 19/1% | 18/3% | 49/2% | Suicidal Ideation |
| 8/3% | 19/2% | 10/8% | 61/7% | Psychosis |
| 15% | 18/3% | 14/2% | 52/5% | Sleep Problems |
| 8/3% | 6/7% | 10% | 75% | Memory |
| 10% | 45% | 17/5% | 27/5% | Repetitive Behavior and Thoughts |
| 14/2% | 9/2% | 18/3% | 58/4% | Dissociation |
| 2/5% | 29/2% | 15/8% | 42/5% | Personality Functions |
| 71/7% | 18/3% | 10% | 0% | Substance Use |
Table 2: Percentage frequency related to axes transverse section com- plications scale in patients of addiction treatment centers in Tehran.
But also, since according to the interpretative guidelines of the current research tool, two scales of suicidal ideation and psychosis are very sensitive and require early intervention, it should be noted that even the level at risk in these two scales is of high clinical importance and these two the scale also requires timely psychological intervention in these people.
The results of the present study showed that the samples in all 13 scales of the transverse complications questionnaire (depression, anger, mania, anxiety, physical complications, suicidal thoughts, psychosis, sleep problems, memory, repetitive thoughts and behaviours, dissociation, personality functions and substance use) There is a significant percentage difference with the normative groups and it can be concluded that the clients of addiction treatment centers in Tehran need psychotherapy interventions and counselling in all these 13 areas. The results of the present study are in agreement with the results of whose research results showed that the mental health status of people with third substance use disorder has a significant difference compared to normal people. Since the present research tool is one of the screening tools for mental disorders, the results of the present study showed that this tool is also effective in screening 13 types of psychological problems in the group of drug users.
Therefore, it is suggested to use the mentioned tool in future studies as well as in clinical and therapeutic situations, emphasizing the screening of psychological problems. Also, according to the results of the present study, it is suggested that in addition to inpatient treatment services and drug treatments related to third substance use disorder, counselling and psychotherapy services should also be provided to people with this disorder in order to witness the significant effectiveness of drug and psychological treatments related to The third disorder was substance abuse.
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Citation: Kamkari K, Eskandari M, Shokrzadeh S, Tavajjohi H (2023) Survey of Mental Health Indicators in Individuals with Substance Use Disorder and Human Immunodeficiency Virus. J HIV Retrovirus. 09:001.
Copyright: © 2023 Kamkari K, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
