Effects of Problem Solving Therapy in Substance Use Disorder in Adolescents

In this study, it was aimed to examine the effects of problem solving therapy, which is a cognitive behavioral method, on adolescents diagnosed with alcohol and substance use disorder.

A semi-structured interview and intelligence test were administered to adolescents with diagnosis of substance use disorder to identify comorbidities. 46 adolescents who met the inclusion criteria were divided into two groups. Problem solving therapy was applied to the first group for 5 weeks, once a week, while the other group continued their routine controls in the center. Beck Depression Inventory, Screen for Child Anxiety Disorders, Revised Social Problem Solving Inventory, Addiction Profile Index and Treatment Motivation Questionnaire were administered to the groups at the beginning of the study and at the end of the 5th week and the results were analyzed.

Sociodemographic and substance use characteristics, comorbid psychopathologies and scale mean scores of the groups in the first evaluation were found to be similar to each other. Although the depression and anxiety scores decreased significantly in both groups, no significant difference was found between the groups. Problemsolving skills and treatment motivation increased in the therapy group and decreased in the control group. The difference between groups was found to be significant (p=0.045, 0.037 for problem solving and treatment motivation respectively). While the severity of addiction decreased in therapy group, it increased in control group, but the difference was not significant.

This study is important in that it shows that psychosocial interventions strengthen the treatment of substance use disorder in adolescents. In our country, no other study was evaluating the effects of the intervention methods in addicted adolescents was found. Future studies with larger sample sizes and where the long-term results of substance use disorder are evaluated are needed.