Depression Among Multiple and Single Substance Users: Role of Abstinence Self Efficacy

Depression has become one of the common forms of psychopathology among substance users particularly with the rising trend of using more than single addictive substance. Experience of depressive symptoms in context of substance use is often found to be determined by one's ability to abstain from drugs and alcohol in varied high risk situations. While association between depression and self efficacy models has clearly been established in prior researches, what remains relatively unexplored is the effect of self efficacy on depression in context of single and multiple substance use. The current study was therefore done with the primary aim to examine differences in depression between single and multiple substance users in treatment phase. Standardized measures of depression and abstinence self efficacy were administered to 126 substance users enrolled in a de-addiction rehabilitation programme. 45 respondents were multi users while 81 used single substances. Consumption of brown sugar and depressants (particularly alcohol) and combination of depressants only (i.e. alcohol and sedatives or group of sedatives) emerged to be the most prevalent forms of drug use pattern among the multiple drug users. Results of One Way ANOVA revealed significant effect of self efficacy on depression among multiple drug users & overall sample. However, self efficacy was not found to have significant effect on depression in case of single substance users. The present study therefore manages to underline the role of self efficacy in determining levels of depression among those who engage in multiple drug use.