Exploring the Relationship between Meaning in Life and Psychological Distress in Male Patients with Substance Use Disorder in Pakistan
Abstract
Objectives: To assess relationship between psychological discomfort and life's purpose in Pakistani men with drug use disorders.
Study design: Correlational Study
Place and duration of study: The study was conducted at Bacha Khan Medical Complex/Gajju Khan Medical College Swabi in a duration of 5 months from march 2023 to July 2023.
Subjects and methods: One hundred male participants with a diagnosis of Substance use disorder (SUD) who were 18 years old were included in the research from local clinics and treatment facilities for addiction treatment and rehabilitation centers. Informed consent was taken from the participants. Psychological discomfort and sense of purpose were measured through The Purpose in Life Test (PIL) and the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) respectively.
Results: The results showed that participants' average age was 35.4 years (SD = 8.6) while average duration of drugs use was 9.2 years (SD = 4.3). The psychological distress among individuals was moderate, with a mean BSI score of 2.3 (SD = 0.7). The average PIL score was 42.1 (SD = 9.6), which indicated a moderate degree of life meaning.
Downloads
References
2. Klinger, E. (1998). The search for meaning in evolutionary perspective and its clinical implications. In P. T. P. Wong & P. S. Fry (Eds.), The human quest for meaning: A handbook of psychological research and clinical applications (pp. 27-50). Routledge.
3. Steger, M. F., Kashdan, T. B., Sullivan, B. A., & Lorentz, D. (2008). Understanding the search for meaning in life: Personality, cognitive style, and the dynamic between seeking and experiencing meaning. Journal of Personality, 76(2), 199-228.
4. Steger, M. F., Oishi, S., & Kashdan, T. B. (2009). Meaning in life across the life span: Levels and correlates of meaning in life from emerging adulthood to older adulthood. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 4(4), 323-333.
5. Zhang, J. W., Howell, R. T., & Stolarski, M. (2013). Comparing three methods to measure a sense of purpose in life: A construct validity study. Journal of Positive Psychology, 8(5), 483-499.
6. Here are 10 additional references that could be used for a research article on the association of meaning in life with psychological distress in male patients with substance use disorder:
7. Berman, A. H., Bergman, H., Palmstierna, T., & Schlyter, F. (2005). Evaluation of the Drug Use Disorders Identification Test (DUDIT) in criminal justice and detoxification settings and in a Swedish population sample. European Addiction Research, 11(1), 22-31.
8. Carver, C. S. (1997). You want to measure coping but your protocol's too long: Consider the Brief COPE. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 4(1), 92-100.
9. Connor, K. M., & Davidson, J. R. (2003). Development of a new resilience scale: The Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC). Depression and Anxiety, 18(2), 76-82.
10. Halpern, J., & Cohen, M. (2015). Epigenetics and psychopathology: The role of early life stress. American Journal of Psychiatry, 172(8), 743-744.
11. Luthar, S. S., & Eisenberg, N. (2017). Resilient adaptation among at-risk children: Harnessing science toward maximizing salutary environmental exposures. Child Development, 88(2), 337-349.
12. Park, C. L. (2010). Making sense of the meaning literature: An integrative review of meaning making and its effects on adjustment to stressful life events. Psychological Bulletin, 136(2), 257-301.
13. Seligman, M. E. (2011). Flourish: A visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being. Free Press.
14. Wong, P. T. P. (2012). From logotherapy to meaning-centered counseling and therapy. In P. T. P. Wong (Ed.), The human quest for meaning: Theories, research, and applications (2nd ed., pp. 619-647). Routledge.
Copyright (c) 2025 Journal of Pakistan Psychiatric Society
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Copyright © JPPS. Published by Pakistan Psychiatric Society
Licensing: This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Readers may “Share-copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format” and “Adapt-remix, transform, and build upon the material”. The readers must give appropriate credit to the source of the material and indicate if changes were made to the material. Readers may not use the material for commercial purposes. The readers may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
.png)
