Identification of substance use among psychiatric patients and its relationship with the perceived network and social support

• Grant number: 12/11849-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: September 01, 2012
• End date: September 30, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Psychology - Psychological Treatment and Prevention
• Principal Investigator: Clarissa Mendonca Corradi Webster
• Grantee: Carolina Magro de Santana Braga
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (FFCLRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The current literature shows that among individuals that present a clinical psychiatric condition the rates of problematic use of psychoactive substances are higher than those found in the general population. This comorbidity has been associated with a worse prognosis for the patient. The literature indicates that the configuration of social and family relationships seem to influence substance use in this population. In this sense, social support is indicated as a predictor of improvement for both substance use and mental health status. Considering this, the aim of this project is to identify the consumption of psychoactive substances among individuals undergoing psychiatric treatment in the outpatient mental health service of Ribeirão Preto, Brazil, and to verify the association between substance use and the perception of the individual regarding their network and social support. This is a quantitative, descriptive-exploratory, cross-sectional study, with a clinically convenient, non-probabilistic sample. There was no input from the service professionals in the sample selection. The inclusion criteria will be: to be undergoing treatment in the selected service and attending during the data collection period; to be over 18 years of age; to be capable of providing information, and to agree to participate in the study. The instruments used will be Socio-demographic and clinical information form, ASSIST (Alcohol, Smoking, and Substance Involvement Screening Test), and MOS-SSS - Medical Outcomes Study Questions - Social Support Survey. Descriptive statistical analysis of the data will be performed and, to verify the association between the categorical variables, Fisher's exact test will be used. A significance level of 5% (p d 0.05) will be adopted.(AU)