NARCISSISM AMONG PATIENTS WITH SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS

Background and Aim : the aim of the study was the investigation about pathological narcissism among patients with substance use disorders and its relationship with classes of substance (opioids, stimulants, and other substances) that used by patientsMethods : study design was cross sectional. Statistical population consisted of two groups of volunteer participants which one group selected from patients with substance use disorders that recruited from addiction clinic of Roozbeh psychiatric hospital located at Tehran, Iran (clinical group, 93 participants) and another group selected from patient’s families and hospital personnel (non-clinical group, 92 participants). Sampling method was convenience. Inclusion criteria were diagnosis of substance use disorders based on psychiatric interviews (for clinical group), age 18 year old and older, and proper reading and writing abilities for answering research instruments, and exclusion criteria were to have schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, and substance intoxication for clinical group and score above 3 at the Alcohol Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) and score above 24 at the General Health Questionnaire for non-clinical group. Both groups completed demographic questionnaire, the ASSIST, and the pathological Narcissism Inventory. Results : : results showed patients with substance use disorders had a significant higher score in comparison to non-clinical participants at pathological narcissism but there was no difference between substance classes including opioid, stimulant, alcohol, and benzodiazepines in pathological narcissism scores.Conclusion : : a significant higher score in pathological narcissism at addict participants could be considered as a maladaptive way for regulating inferiority feelings like shame, depression, and anger in order to maintain individual’s self-esteem and reach to a sense of grandiosity and omnipotence. In this view, it might be assumed that individual gets more control over her or him impulses and affects and classes of substance have not influential effect on it.

Keywords:

Narcissism , Substance use disorders