Relationship between dysfunctional beliefs and stress coping methods in drug-addicted patients: A sample of Turkey

Background: Dysfunctional beliefs are believed to have an effect on substance abuse. Drug-addicted individuals experience difficulties with coping in stressful situations and therefore, start reusing these drugs. Aim: This study was conducted to determine the relationship between dysfunctional beliefs and stress coping methods in drug-addicted patients. Materials and Methods: The population of this descriptive and cross-sectional research study comprised 51 patients who were admitted to the Alcohol and Drug Addiction Treatment Center of a state hospital, diagnosed with drug addiction, and consented to participate in our study. The data were collected by using the Sociodemographic Information Form, the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale (DAS), and the Coping Assessment Questionnaire (COPE). The data obtained were evaluated by percentage, correlation, one-way analysis of variance, Mann-Whitney U-test, and Kruskal-Wallis test. Results: The average COPE score of the drug-addicted patients was found to be 171.60 ± 23.35. The average DAS score of the drug-addicted patients was determined to be 161.66 ± 36.94. A statistically significant difference was found between the DAS and COPE scores of the patients (P < 0.05). Conclusions: It can be concluded that these patients have dysfunctional beliefs and exhibit emotion-focused coping attitudes. More comparative studies investigating the dysfunctional beliefs of alcohol- and drug-addicted people and coping methods should be conducted.