Relationship between Depression, Anxiety, Stress and Mental Wellbeing among Poly Substance Users

Abstract

The current research aimed to find out the relationship between depression, anxiety, stress and mental well-being among poly substance users in Pakistan. The cohabitation of depression, anxiety, and stress, as well as its nuanced interaction with mental well-being in individual, who use several substances, is a critical subject. As the global prevalence of poly substance use rises, understanding the complex interaction of these psychological aspects becomes critical for effective intervention, prevention, and holistic treatment. A quantitative research method with snowball sampling technique was used. Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale - (DASS 21) and The Warrick Edinburgh mental well- being scale (WEMWBS) were used and SPSS 21 was used to analyze data of 350 individuals. Results show that Depression, Stress and Anxiety have a significant positive correlation with each other and a negative correlation with Mental Well Being (r= -.23, <0.01). The result also shows that there was not significant difference in depression, anxiety, and stress levels based on gender due to lower level of significant difference (F= 0.429, P= 0.652), also in case of Mental Well Being a significant difference was observed among poly substance users (F= 4.689, P = 0.010). Results also indicates that significant differences in depression, anxiety and stress levels (Nuclear: 16.39, Joint: 18.78) but not in mental well-being (Nuclear: 47.25, Joint: 47.62) between poly drug users according to family systems. The study's findings can help to design integrated treatment approaches that target both drug use and mental health of poly substance users. It may aid in the development of treatment regimens for poly substance users and to develop personalized and evidence-based therapies that target the unique requirements of this group by identifying specific patterns, risk factors, and protective factors to take into account the complexities of concurrent drug use and mental health concerns.