ANALYTICAL STUDY OF DIVERSITY OF SEXUAL BEHAVIOR AMONG PEOPLE WITH SUBSTANCE ABUSE HISTORY AND THE ASSESSMENT OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A SEX THERAPY PROGRAM BASED ON AN EXPLORATORY ANALYSIS

Background and Aim : Studies suggest irritability and maladaptation as characteristics of drug-dependent people. Sexual relation is an issue of impact in this regard which provides relaxation and reduction of dependence on external stimuli. This research is an analytical study of personality trends and the diversity of sexual behavior among people with substance abuse history. We also assessed the effectiveness of a sex therapy program based on an exploratory analysis of the factors affecting the motivation and hope of adherence to quit substance abuse.Methods : This study was conducted in two dimensions: (1) a ‘causative comparative’ approach in order to identify the relationships and components of substance abuse among the subjects and (2) a ‘semi-experimental’ approach to assess the effectiveness of the designed intervention. For the first dimension, 385 subjects with a history of drug abuse were selected based on the Cochran formula; and for the second dimension, 30 patients with a 6-month history of drug quit were selected using a convenience targeted sampling method. Results : The results in the first part of the study indicated that more than 53 percent of the subjects did not consider sex with a single partner as pleasant and adequate; 89 percent considered their sexual partners insufficient and unsatisfactory. Furthermore, contrary to the expectations, 48 percent of the substance abusers were dominant introverts. In the second part, based on the beliefs of the 89% group who did not consider sex with their partners sufficient and satisfactory, some negative components were added in order to improve sex quality within an intervention program for the subjects who had a history of 6-month drug quit. The results revealed a significant reduction in the tendency to substance abuse and an increase of marital satisfaction.Conclusion : The applied intervention program was an effective method to improve couples’ sexual relations and had an effective and positive impact on the abusers’ adherence to the process of overcoming addiction and maintenance of health.

Keywords:

Substance abuse , sex therapy , introversion , marital satisfaction.