Tuyển tập báo cáo các nghiên cứu khoa học quốc tế ngành y học dành cho các bạn tham khảo đề tài: Reasons for illicit drug use in people with schizophrenia: Qualitative study | Asher and Gask BMC Psychiatry 2010 10 94 http 1471-244X 10 94 BMC Psychiatry RESEARCH ARTICLE Open Access Reasons for illicit drug use in people with schizophrenia Qualitative study Carolyn J Asher1 Linda Gask2 Abstract Background Drug misuse is an important clinical problem associated with a poorer outcome in patients who have a diagnosis of schizophrenia. Qualitative studies have rarely been used to elicit reasons for drug use in psychosis but not in schizophrenia. Methods Seventeen people with a diagnosis of schizophrenia and who had used street drugs were interviewed and asked to describe in narrative form their street drug use from their early experiences to the present day. Grounded theory was used to analyse the transcripts. Results We identified five reasons for continuing street drug use. The reasons were as an identity defining vocation to belong to a peer group due to hopelessness because of beliefs about symptoms and how street drugs influence them and viewing drugs as equivalent to taking psychotropic medication . Street drugs were often used to reduce anxiety aroused by voice hearing. Some participants reported street drugs to focus their attention more on persecutory voices in the hope of outwitting their perceived persecutors. Conclusions It would be clinically useful to examine for the presence of the five factors in patients who have a diagnosis of schizophrenia and use street drugs as this is likely to help the clinician to tailor management of substance misuse to the individual patient s beliefs. Background Illicit drug use is common in schizophrenia. Reported prevalence rates vary for instance in a recent study of people with schizophrenia had comorbid drug abuse or dependence 1 . A recent meta-analysis showed about 1 in 4 patients with schizophrenia had cannabis use disorder 2 . This is up to five times higher than in the general population 3 and results in higher rates of relapse hospitalisation suicide and other .
