The Comparison of Self-regulation and Affective Control in Methamphetamine and Narcotics Addicts and Non-Addicts

BACKGROUND Increased prevalence and widespread use of methamphetamine is the public challenge and worry in the world. It seems that low levels of self-regulation and affective control to carry up probability of psychoactive drugs abuse. OBJECTIVES The purpose of the present study is the comparison of self-regulation and affective control in methamphetamine and narcotics addicts and non-addicts. MATERIALS AND METHODS In this causative-comparative study, 80 addicts (40 methamphetamine addicts and 40 narcotic addicts) who referred to self-reference quitting addictive centers in Miyaneh, Iran, participated in convenience sampling. Then, they matched up with 40 non-addicts according to age, sex, educational level, and marital status. To collect data, we used self-regulation questionnaire and affective control scale. The data was analyzed by multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and LSD test. RESULTS Result shows that there is a significant difference between methamphetamine addicts and narcotics addicts and non-addicts in self-regulation and affective control (P = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS This finding indicates that low self-regulation and affective control is a risky factor in psychoactive drugs abuse.