The Effect of Dialectical Behavior Therapy-Based Emotional Management on Anxiety and Temptation in Patients with Drug Abuse

Abstract

Aim and Background: Negative and positive emotional states, temptation, and anxiety are among the most important risk factors for addiction. This research aimed to study the effect of dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)-based emotional management training on anxiety and temptation in patients with drug abuse. Methods and Materials: This was an experimental research with pretest/posttest method and control group. To select the sample, the available sampling method was used. Among patients with substance abuse in addiction treatment centers in Ahwaz City, Iran, based on clinical interviews, 28 were selected. They were randomly divided into two equal groups of experimental and control. Both groups passed the leaving and detoxification steps. The experimental group received 10 sessions of dialectical behavior therapy-based emotional management training, but the control group did not receive any intervention. The research tools were demographic questionnaire, Craving Believes Questionnaire (CBQ), and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). Findings: After the intervention, there were significant differences between experimental and control groups regarding anxiety and temptation (P < 0.001 for both). In other words, the rate of anxiety and temptation in experimental group significantly decreased in comparison with pretest and control group. Conclusions: The current study indicated that dialectical behavior therapy-based emotional management training would be an appropriate treatment for university students in order to decrease the symptoms of anxiety and temptation in those with drug abuse.

Keywords

• behavior therapy
• drug abuse
• anxiety
• emotional adjustment
• craving