Comparing Attachment Styles, Coping Skills, Early Maladaptive Schemas, and Resiliency in Drug Addicts and Non-Addicts

This research aims at comparing attachment styles, coping skills, early maladaptive schemas, and resiliency in drug addicts and non-addicts. The bulk of the research population is 108 people consisting of two 54-person groups. The first group includes addicted persons aged 20 to 60 who have visited certain clinics for treatment. The second group consists of healthy non-addicted persons who very much resemble the people of the first group in every aspect. This study was conducted in causal-comparative form and in order to gather data, following questionnaires were used: adults’ attachment style, fighting psychological stress, resiliency scale, and maladaptive schema. Regression analysis and the statistical t-test were used in order to analyze data for independent groups. Results showed that there is a significant relationship between the addiction status and problem-focused coping style. However, there is no significant relationship between emotion-focused and avoidant styles and the addiction status and they are excluded from the model. Moreover, there is a significant relationship between addiction and closeness; however, there is no significant relationship between two other dependency styles and anxiety and addiction status and they are excluded from the model. Comparing two groups with respect to having maladaptive schemas and resiliency in addicted and non-addicted persons showed that addicts have maladaptive schemas more than non-addicts do, but the average of having resiliency in nonaddicts and addicts is almost equal and there is no significant relationship between the two groups.