Effect of mutual support in the management of substance abuse among selected adults attending neuropsychiatric hospital in Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Substance abuse is increasing at an alarming rate, causing serious threats globally. This study examines the effect of mutual support in the management of substance abuse among selected adults attending Neuropsychiatric Hospital in Nigeria. Methods: This study adopted a quasi-experimental design conducted among fifty-four patients with substance-induced mental illness. The study was done in the pre-intervention, intervention and post-intervention phases. A structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Data collected were subjected to Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) edition 27. Results: There was a significant difference between pre and post-intervention physical improvement of respondents (t53=8.825; p-value= .001). More so, there was a significant difference between pre and post-intervention Social composure of respondents (t53=7.011; p-value= 0.004). And also, there was a significant difference between pre and post-intervention mental stability of respondents (t53=12.093; p-value= 0.003). Conclusions: The majority of the respondents experienced better physical improvement, social composure and mental stability during post-intervention assessment compared to pre-intervention. This explains that there is a clear adoption of mutual support in the management of mental conditions. It is recommended that mental health nurses adopt mutual support as a tool to help substance abuse patients to attain quick recovery.