Aim: The purposes of this study are: (1) to evaluate symptomatology and psychological well-being, according to Ryff's theoretical model, of two groups of drug dependent patients in residential structures compared with a control; (2) to explore the impact of dual diagnosis, pharmacological therapy, duration of stay in structures and previous therapeutic experience as indicators on symptomatology and psychological well-being.
Methods: The sample is formed by 61 drug-dependent patients and 65 controls. Each subject completed two self-administered scales: Kellner's Symptom Questionnaire-SQ and Ryff's Psychological Well-Being Scales-PWB. Differences in PWB and SQ mean scores between clinical and control subjects and within clinical group, for each specific variable, were analyzed using analysis of variance.
Results: Clinical group had significantly lower levels of all six PWB dimensions and SQ scores compared to the controls. Dual diagnosis did not produce any significant effect on PWB and SQ general scores, except for the PWB dimension of positive social relations. Pharmacological therapy had a slightly significant effect only on PWB. No significant effects were found in terms of symptomatology and general well-being depending on duration of stay, except for purpose in life. Previous experience caused a significant result for psychological well-being, while no general effect on symptomatology was found.
Discussion: We found that drug dependence is associated with high degree of symptomatology and the lack of positive psychological functioning in specific areas. Improving positive psychological functioning of this population could be a good way to intervene on specific problems which could interfere with treatment continuity.