The Efficacy of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on Psychological Resilience in Women with Substance Use Disorder

Abstract

Background: Drug addiction, defined as a chronic brain disease, leads to worse physical and psychological status that has the most damaging effect on the family system. Objectives: This study investigated the effect of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) on psychological resilience in drug abuser women. Methods: This semi-trial study was done by a pre-test/post-test and the control group. The statistical population of this study was drug abuser women who were hospitalized in addiction treatment camps in Zahedan and were detoxified. The single-stage cluster was sampling method; twenty-seven females were randomly divided into the trial (n = 13) and control groups (n = 14). The Connor‐Davidson resilience scale (CD‐RISC) was used as questionnaire. The data were analyzed by multivariate covariance analysis. Results: There was a significant change in the interpersonal competence, negative affective tolerance, and spiritual effects in the post-test in the experimental group compared with the control group. According to the Eta coefficients report, the most effective issue was the perception of individual competence with the effect and difference equal to 34% in post-test scores, which was the effect of ACT. Conclusions: It appears that acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) may be an effective intervention in improving psychological resilience in drug abuser women. Accordingly, it is suggested that therapists should use ACT to significantly promote psychological resilience along with medical treatments for drug abuser women that need critical care of their psychological functioning.