Psychiatry and Clinical Psychopharmacology
Original Article

The relationship between internalized stigma and treatment motivation, perceived social support, depression and anxiety levels in opioid use disorder

1.

Department of Psychiatry, Ankara Numune Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey

2.

Department of Psychiatry, Medical Faculty, Başkent University, Ankara, Turkey

3.

Department of Psychology, Hasan Kalyoncu University, Gaziantep, Turkey

4.

Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Medical School of Houston, Houston, TX, USA

5.

Center for Neurobehavioral Research on Addictions, Houston, TX, USA

6.

Ankara, Turkey

7.

Department of Psychiatry, Medical Faculty, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey

8.

Department of Gastroenterology, Goztepe Education and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey

9.

Department of Biostatistics, Medical Faculty, Uludag University, Bursa, Turkey

Psychiatry and Clinical Psychopharmacology 2018; 28: 394-401
DOI: 10.1080/24750573.2018.1478190
Read: 1354 Downloads: 636 Published: 10 February 2021

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to examine how internalized stigma differs in opioid use disorder (OUD) based on sociodemographic and clinical variables, and to what extent internalized stigma is related to treatment motivation, perceived social support, depression, and anxiety levels.

METHODS: One hundred forty-five individuals with OUD included. Sociodemographic and clinical data form, the Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness Scale (ISMI), Treatment Motivation Questionnaire (TMQ), Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the Beck Anxiety Inventory were utilized in the study to collect data. Bivariate and partial correlation coefficients between variables were computed. ISMI and TMQ scores were compared between patients with depressive symptoms and patients without depressive symptoms by using t-test and Mann Whitney U test.

RESULTS: Internalized stigma was high among male patients with heroin use disorder. There was a positive correlation between internalized stigma score and treatment motivation, depression, and anxiety levels. On the other hand, there was a negative correlation between internalized stigma score and multidimensional perceived social support.

CONCLUSION: Internalized stigma occupies an important place in the treatment of OUD, which occurs with frequent relapses and which is hard to treat. Not only application for treatment but also adherence to treatment and treatment motivation at maintenance phase bestow a complicated relationship with depression and anxiety. In the struggle against internalized stigma, it plays a vital role to mobilize people’s social support systems, to educate families on the issue and to get in touch with support units exclusive to heroin users.

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EISSN 2475-0581