Causes of Drug Use based on Social Support Theory

Introduction: Drug use is one of the most important health challenges among different communities and has become a psychological and social problem. The current study aimed to investigate the factors related to drug use in the elderly based on the level of social support and constructs of the Protection Motivation Theory (PMT).Material and Methods: This case-control study was conducted on ۴۰۰ elderly with and without drug use history These individuals were chosen from addiction treatment centers in Fasa city, Fars Provonce, Iran ۲۰۲۱-۲۰۲۲. For gathering the data, a demographic questionnaire, a PMT-based questionnaire, and a perceived social support questionnaire were used. Data analyzing method was descriptive statistics, Chi-square, one-way ANOVA, t-test, Mann-Whitney, and Kruskal-Wallis tests.Results: Mean age of onset of use was ۳۵.۴۸±۱۳.۵۷ and the duration of use was ۲۷.۸۶ years. ۸۴.۹% of the elderly were addicted to opium and ۵۸.۳% had experienced medical withdrawal. The most important factors related to drug use were social and environmental factors. The mean score of awareness, vulnerability, severity, fear, protection, motivation, response efficacy, perceived self-efficacy, and social support was higher in the elderly with no history of substance use. There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of reward and response costs.Conclusion: A low level of education in the elderly with a history of drug use caused their low awareness of the side effects of drug use and the continuation of unhealthy behavior. Appropriate educational interventions are recommended using health education theories such as PMT to improve social support, awareness, and motivation to withdraw drug use. To reduce the prevalence of drug use, more specialized educational interventions are recommended to increase the awareness of the elderly about the underlying factors of drug use. In addition, further studies are recommended to identify the underlying causes of drug use

Keywords:

Elderly , Drug use , Social support , Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) , awareness.