Adesão ao tratamento e habilidades sociais dos usuários dependentes de álcool acompanhados em um centro de atenção psicossocial de álcool e outras drogas do município de Palmas/TO

Abstract

Social skills (SS) are the ability to express feelings, attitudes, opinions or rights in a socially appropriate manner. It is known that people who abuse alcohol as a strategy to reduce tension have impaired social skills. The World Health Organization associates adherence to treatment with seeking and attending care and making changes in harmful behaviors. The objective of the study was to understand the adherence to treatment and social skills of alcohol-dependent users admitted and readmitted to the Psychosocial Care Center for Alcohol and Other Drugs (CAPS AD III) in the city of Palmas/TO. This is an observational, descriptive and prospective study with a qualitative approach. Data collection was carried out in two stages, from September 2023 to June 2024. The first stage involved 40 people aged 18 to 59 years old who responded to the following instruments: Alcohol Dependence Treatment Adherence Monitoring Form adapted from Araújo (2021) and Social Skills Inventory (IHS-2). Of the 40 patients interviewed, 82.5% (n=33) were male, 85% (n=34) were aged 31-59 years, 75.0% (n=30) declared themselves to be brown, 42.5% had completed high school, and 37.5% (n=15) reported using alcohol daily in the last six months. Regarding treatment adherence, 57.5% (n=23) did not adhere to treatment. Regarding social skills, 55.0% (n=22) of the participants had a lower repertoire. For the second stage, patients who had a lower and lower average repertoire in the general score of the Social Skills Inventory (IHS-2) and who adhered to treatment were selected, totaling eight people. A semi-structured interview was used and the material was evaluated according to the Bardin content analysis (2016) and the Nvivo software. The study participants highlighted that they started using alcohol in adolescence and under the influence of friends/companions. The factors that appeared in the interviews that hinder adherence to treatment were: unemployment, difficulty in transportation and forgetting dates of medical appointments. The factors that contributed to adherence were support network and information about alcoholism. Regarding treatment, patients reported access to medication and participation in therapeutic groups. The data from this study help to understand how the low repertoire of social skills impacts treatment for alcohol dependence. It is concluded that low adherence to treatment and impairments in the HS repertoire are phenomena that deserve attention and care from mental health professionals.