The Risk Factors That Lead to Addiction and Relapse among Addicted Patients

Background: Drug addiction is a chronic, relapsing disorder in which compulsive drug seeking and drug-taking behavior persists despite of serious negative consequences. The purpose of this studywas to assess the risk factors that lead to addiction and relapse among addicted patient. This study was conducted at Benha and Abassia mental hospitals. A descriptive design was used to achieve the purpose of this study. A purposive sample of 80 adult patients was selected from the hospitals of the above mentioned settings. Three instruments were used for this study as: (1)structured interview questionnaire to assess demographic data about the patient, risk factors of addiction and patient’s perception about addiction, (2) Social adjustment scale to measure social adjustment and (3) Social competence scaleto measure social competence. Results: the most common risk factors for addiction were psychological problems, weak will power, bad friends, and family problems, pressure at work, physical problem and cigarette smoking respectively., Relapse was higher in male than female with highly statistical significant difference There for, it was concluded that psychological problems bade friends, cigarette smoking and family problems could lead to addiction and relapse.Recommendation: Stress management and assertiveness training program should be provided for those patients to relive their psychological problems, also thy need educational programs and awareness of the dangers of drug abuse and its negative effects on the individual and society