In Montenegro, young people start consuming psychoactive substances earlier and earlier, and the problem is more and more present in people over 40 and 50 years old, according to the results of the first research conducted with users of Ju Kakaricka Gora.
Ena Grbović, from the Faculty of Political Sciences, in cooperation with Boris Mugoš, from the Institute of Public Health, conducted a two-year research.
In the announcement of the University of Montenegro, it is stated that the results were obtained on the basis of 107 representative samples of former addicts out of 240 of them who were in the institution at that moment, and that they had undergone one year of rehabilitation.
"Any sufficiently aware society should be interested in providing social support to former drug addicts after their stay in a treatment facility," the research showed.
Grbović added that most of the respondents went to treatment up to three times.
"The disease of addiction is a chronic disease and relapse of drug abuse is very likely. Relapse does not mean that the treatment has failed, but that it should be repeated and adapted to the needs of the person".
For the maintenance and duration of abstinence, as Grbović says, self-help groups are of great importance, and not only this but also research around the world indicates this.
"This is confirmed by the fact that most of them visit groups several times a week in which the 12-step program is applied, a world-recognized and well-known way of helping various addictive behaviors," the statement added.
Family relationships and support, as well as good relationships with other important people in life, are crucial for the treatment process, he says.
As he says, they represent a significant factor for psychological and mental health, especially from the perspective of social functioning
"Provided social support, i.e. a person's perception that other people will give him support in a situation when he needs it, is of great importance," Grbović said.
The respondents started consuming cigarettes and alcohol at the age of 13, while they first tried tranquilizers and marijuana at the age of 16, and heroin at the age of 18, according to the announcement.
"In recent years, the prevalence of addiction to psychoactive substances in our country has reached epidemic proportions, with a constant increase in prevalence," Grbović said.
He explains that the consumption of psychoactive substances is starting earlier, but that there is a phenomenon of increased consumption in people over 40 and 50 years old.
He adds that the characteristics of the 'new wave' are the demetropolization and decentralization of this phenomenon, as well as the combined consumption of different types of psychoactive substances.
"The research showed that the family environment does not represent a predisposition for reaching for intoxicating substances, at least that's what the overall percentage showed, but it is primarily 'curiosity' and 'society'," says Grbović.
Already, as he says, the data show that most addicts come from families where violence is not expressed, that it is usually the first child, in order of birth, with an average childhood and high school education, with good success.
"Most respondents grew up in a so-called complete family, and most often in a married union, with an average of four members. They also believe that they were not neglected by their parents and that their parents paid them enough attention. They perceive their relationships with their parents as close, which is the relationship with the mother is more affectionate than the relationship with the father. The parents knew the society to a large extent, but a significant percentage of them did not know the society in which they move in their free time," Grbović explained the research data.
"The fathers of the respondents, according to the research, used alcohol more often, while the mothers consumed tranquilizers," the announcement states.
He adds that the data also show that more than half of the respondents exhibited deviant behavior in their past, as well as that they were restless, argumentative and prone to fights.
"A significant number ran away from home and exhibited a certain type of deprivation. Suicide was expressed in a slightly smaller scale, but not negligible. At some point in their lives, 7,5 percent of clients tried to commit suicide. Furthermore, 86 percent of respondents were legally punished (misdemeanor or criminal) and even slightly more than half of those questioned were in prison," Grbović said.
The reasons for the high rate of misdemeanor and criminal penalties are, as he says, the provision of material resources for the consumption of narcotic drugs, and because of this, most addicts resort to theft, burglary, trafficking and possession of drugs.
"The recommendation that came out of this research is that we should encourage the development of preventive activities and raise awareness about the harmfulness of consuming psychoactive substances at an early age," the announcement states.
"As the average user of psychoactive substances does not have a specific profile, but fits into the image of the average citizen of Montenegro, preventive activities would be universal and would include all categories of students in primary schools, throughout the country," concludes Grbović.
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