The relationship between childhood trauma and the tendency to abuse drugs according to the mediating role of cognitive flexibility and rumination in people with post-traumatic stress disorder

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 PhD Student in Clinical Psychology, Department of Psychology, Shiraz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shiraz, Iran

2 Department of Psychology, Shiraz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shiraz, Iran

10.22034/jmpr.2023.15344

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between childhood trauma and the tendency to abuse drugs, considering the mediating role of cognitive flexibility and rumination in people with post-traumatic stress disorder. The current research is cross-sectional and of the correlation and structural equations type. The statistical population of the current research was all the people who referred to the treatment centers (trauma hospitals and medical, psychiatric and counseling clinics in Hamedan city) in the summer and fall of 2021, and 280 people were available from this population by sampling method. who met the inclusion criteria, were selected and studied. To collect data from the post-traumatic stress disorder questionnaire of Kian et al.. (1997), the cognitive flexibility questionnaire of Dennis and Vanderwaal, and the rumination questionnaire of Nolen-Hoeksma and Maur (1991) and the drug abuse tendency questionnaire of Wade et al. (1992) was used. Data analysis was done with the statistical method of correlation coefficients and regression coefficients in SPSS.21 and AMOS.21 software. The results of the research showed that the tendency to abuse drugs has a positive and significant relationship with childhood trauma and rumination, and a negative and significant relationship with cognitive flexibility. Also, childhood trauma has a positive and significant relationship with rumination and a negative and significant relationship with flexibility (P<0.05). On the other hand, the results of the path analysis showed that rumination and cognitive flexibility play a mediating role between childhood trauma and the tendency to use drugs.

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