Comparing the Level of Dissociative Experience in Prisoners with and without Opioid Dependence Disorder in Shiraz and its Relationship with Other Psychiatric Disorders

Objective: Many psychodynamic oriented psychotherapists believe that people do not become addicted without a reason; they use drugs to avoid painful feelings, thoughts and memories. The present study examines the relationship between the level of dissociation, substance dependence disorder and other psychiatric disorder. Methods: In a descriptive study on prisoners of Adel-Abad prison, Shiraz, Iran, a sample of 4 groups of 29 women, and 30 men with opioid dependence, and 27 women and 30 men without dependence filled out the DES II questionnaire and SCL-90-R. The groups were compared regarding mean of DES with t-test and chi-square and also correlation coefficient for the relationship of DES and other psychiatric disorders. Results: Women with opioid dependence showed the highest score in DES II (mean=48.9) among the groups and men without substance use disorder had the least mean score in DES (24.27). The difference between addict and non-addict groups regarding DES was significant. There was no meaningful relationship between DES II score and 9 aspects of SCL-90-R. Conclusion: The results are suggestive of a relationship between addiction and dissociation. It is supposed if substance use disorder can be explained as a “Chemically Induced Dissociation”, or both “Dissociation” and “Substance Induced Disorder” might have common explanations in psychopathology.