Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Nov 8:6:e5930.
doi: 10.7717/peerj.5930. eCollection 2018.

Risk and protective factors for drug dependence in two Moroccan high-risk male populations

Affiliations

Risk and protective factors for drug dependence in two Moroccan high-risk male populations

Anis Sfendla et al. PeerJ. .

Abstract

Background: Substance use is linked to biological, environmental, and social factors. This study provides insights on protective and risk factors for drug dependence in two Moroccan, high-risk, male samples.

Methods: Data from the "Mental and Somatic Health without borders" (MeSHe) survey were utilized in the present study. The MeSHe survey assesses somatic and mental health parameters by self-report from prison inmates (n = 177) and outpatients from an addiction institution (n = 54). The "Drug dependence" and the "No drug dependence" groups were identified based on the Arabic version of the Drug Use Disorder Identification Test's (DUDIT) validated cutoff for identifying individuals with drug dependence, specifically in Morocco.

Results: The majority of participants who had at least high school competence (67.6%), were living in a partnership (53.7%), were a parent (43.1%), and/or had a job (86.8%) belonged to the "No drug dependence" group, while the presence of mental health problems was typical among the "Drug dependence" group (47.4%). A multivariable regression model (χ2 (df = 5, N = 156) = 63.90, p < 0.001) revealed that the presence of depression diagnosis remains a significant risk factor, while a higher level of education, having a child, and being employed are protective factors from drug dependence.

Discussion: Findings support the importance of increasing academic competence and treating depression as prevention from the persistence of drug addiction in male high-risk populations.

Keywords: Arabic-DUDIT; Depression; Drug dependence; Employment; MeSHe study; Partnership; Protective factors; Risk factors.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

References

    1. Angst J. Comorbidity of mood disorders: a longitudinal prospective study. British Journal of Psychiatry. 1996;168(S30):31–37. doi: 10.1192/s0007125000298383. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bachman JG, O’Malley PM, Schulenberg JE, Johnston LD, Bryant AL, Merline AC. The decline of substance use in young adulthood: changes in social activities, roles, and beliefs. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers; 2002.
    1. Badel BA, Greaney B. Exploring the link between drug use and job status in the U.S. Regional Economist. 2013;21:1–3.
    1. Berman AH, Bergman H, Palmstierna T, Schlyter F. Evaluation of the drug use disorders identification test (DUDIT) in criminal justice and detoxification settings and in a Swedish population sample. European Addiction Research. 2005;11(1):22–31. doi: 10.1159/000081413. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bernstein MH, McSheffrey SN, Van Den Berg JJ, Vela JE, Stein LAR, Roberts MB, Martin RA, Clarke JG. The association between impulsivity and alcohol/drug use among prison inmates. Addictive Behaviors. 2015;42:140–143. doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2014.11.016. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources