Frustration usually co-occurs with substance abuse. The research question is whether substance abuse can reduce frustration. This problem is significant because there is a gap in literature addressing this question. Whereas there is evidence that frustration can lead to drug use, the question whether drug abuse can reduce frustration requires further research.
The main variables are the substance abuse and the levels of frustration. The substance abuse is an independent variable, and the levels of frustration are a dependent variable. The Rosenzweig Picture-Frustration Study (P-F Study) will be used for measuring the frustration of drug abusers (Rosenzweig, “The Rosenzweig Picture-Frustration Study”).
The hypothesis that will be tested in this study is that there is a negative relationship between substance abuse and individual’s frustration.
The data necessary for testing this hypothesis, approving or disapproving it includes the influence of substance abuse on individual’s mood. For this purpose, a sample of addicted individuals coming into a rehabilitation center can be tested before the beginning of treatment and at the end of the course. The data retrieved from a Picture-Frustration Study before the beginning of treatment can be used for evaluating the levels of frustration under the influence of substance.
The data received after the end of the course will show the levels of frustration in the same individuals without the influence of substance. Importantly, the same individuals should participate in the study so that their individual peculiarities could be taken into account. The data necessary for supporting this hypothesis will include the lower levels of frustration before the beginning of the course of treatment as compared to the levels of frustration after the end of the treatment course. In case if the opposite results are achieved, the hypothesis will be disapproved.
An exploratory study investigating the influence of drug abuse upon the perceived quality of life in the addicted individuals was carried out by Jessica Maeyer, Wouter Vanderplasschen and Eric Broekaert. The researchers focused on the concept of quality of life as a treatment outcome indicator perceived as important by the addicted individuals undergoing treatment. The researchers organized focus group discussions in different treatment settings to define the patients’ perceptions of indicators affecting their quality of life (Maeyer, Vanderplasschen and Broekaert 108). The main finding of this study was that the treatment course affects the patients’ social well-being, and effective social network is needed for supporting them during the treatment courses.
Kim Mueser, Jennifer Gottlieb, Corrine Cather, Shirley Glynn, Roberto Zarate and Melinda Smith conducted an investigation among the relatives of substance addicted individuals participating in the family intervention studies. The main goal of researchers was to investigate the relationship between antisocial personality disorder (ASPD), mental illnesses and addiction of those who abuse drugs. The data on the social well-being and the levels of frustration in addicted individuals was retrieved from their relatives’ reports (Mueser, Gottlieb, Cather, Glynn, Zarate and Smith 54).
An important finding of this research that is relevant to the hypothesis of research outlined earlier was that the clients with ASPD and addiction have worse mental health functioning at the beginning of the intervention studies as compared to the results reported by the relatives of clients who had been involved into the long-term interventions. This finding contradicts the hypothesis of the research outlined above and, therefore, deserves serious consideration.
Works Cited
Maeyer, Jessica, Wouter Vanderplasschen and Eric Broekaert. “Exploratory Study on Drug Users’ Perspectives on Quality of Life: More than Health-Related Quality of Life?” Social Indicators Research 90 (2009): 107 – 126. Print.
Mueser, Kim, Jennifer Gottlieb, Corrine Cather, Shirley Glynn, Roberto Zarate and Melinda Smith. “Antisocial Personality Disorder in People with Co-Occurring Severe Mental Illness and Substance Use Disorders: Clinical, Functional, and Family Relationship Correlates.” Psychosis: Psychological, Social and Integrative Approaches 4.1 (2012): 52 – 62. Print.
Rosenzweig, Saul. “The Rosenzweig Picture-Frustration Study.” Mental Measurements Yearbook. 1981. Web.