A cross-sectional study on sociodemographic profile and drug-seeking situations in alcohol-dependent patients

Background and aims: Alcohol dependence is associated with enormous health complications – both psychological and physical. It is important to understand the factors leading to its dependence, which will help to plan strategies to reduce its intake. Hence, we decided to study the sociodemographic profile and drug-seeking situations in alcohol-dependent patients. Methods: It was a cross-sectional, observational, hospital-based study of 75 alcohol dependence syndrome patients. A predesigned proforma was used for collecting sociodemographic data and the Inventory of Drug-Taking Situation (IDTS) was used to assess various drug-seeking situations in alcohol-dependent patients. Results: Mean age of the study sample was 42 years and duration of alcohol use was 17 years. The common drug-seeking behaviour, assessed using IDTS, was pleasant times with others (positive situations) followed by social pressure and testing personal control (temptation situations). Conclusion: Most of the patients in the study were long-term alcohol users with initiation in the young adult age. Identifying the high-risk situations and forming alternate coping strategies for dealing with these particular high-risk situations will help in reducing the severity of alcohol consumption and relapse prevention.