The association between addiction profile and early maladaptive schemas among individuals with opioid use disorder

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background and objective Opioid use disorder (OUD) is a global problem and factors that play a role in its development and treatment outcomes need to be examined. We aimed to compare early maladaptive schemas (EMS) in individuals with OUD with a control group and to investigate the effects of these variables on the addiction profile. Methods Eighty-one participants with a diagnosis of OUD and 81 control participants were included in the study. The sociodemographic data form and Young Schema Inventory Short Form-3 were used as data collection tools for both groups. In addition, the Addiction Profile Index (API) was applied to the OUD group. Results A statistically significant difference was identified in 11 of the 14 schema domains. We found a statistically significant positive correlation in the API total scores of OUD patients with the areas of failure, social isolation/insecurity, and nesting/addiction schemas. Conclusions OUD patients were characterized with more prominent maladaptive schemas compared to the control group. When evaluating individuals with OUD, it would be beneficial to determine the dominant schema areas and consider them in designing treatment programs. In addition, new methods should be developed to examine the effects of schemas on complex events such as dependency.