Drug abuse in adolescents occurs within their socio-cultural network(context), therefore it cannot be dealt with without considering the social-cultural aspects. Thus, the recovery process in drug abuse is related to multivariate complex phenomena. Even though there are various opinions and views about major factors affecting the recovery process, identification and validation of those factors has not been sufficiently clarified. Also the relationship among variables is not been clarified.
The purpose of this research was to develop a substantive theory about the recovery process in adolescents with substance abuse after exploring, describing, and analyzing the experience of the recovery process in the context of Korean society and culture. The research method used in this study was the Grounded Theory Method developed by Strauss & Corbin(1990) which is useful in exposing and understanding the experience of the recovery process, and in gaining a new perspective in this area.
An interview with addicted adolescent was conducted to impove the theoretical sensitivity. In this interview, adolescents with drug abuse were found to be experiencing a self-annihilation.
The study was performed from January 29, 1996 to October 3, 1996. The sample consist of nine adolescents, seven male and two female, who were using substances such as Bond, Gas, Rumila, and Marihuana before admission. Data collection and analysis were performed simultaneously.
The findings indicate that there were 56 kinds of concepts including sensible thrill pursuit
and prompt satisfaction pursuit of one´ s desire, and that there were 25 kinds of categories like prompt pleasure pursuit, addictive tendency etc. The term "Becoming newly born in self-existence" was the core category in this study.
Adolescents with substance abuse were hospitalized in a state of lost self-existence, and they recovered toward "Becoming newly born in self-existence" using such strategies as self introspection, self confrontation, self disclosure, intimate relationship experience, self-recognition, and substitution under the influence of mediating variables.
The analysis of the recovery process over time revealed that adolescents with substance abuse experienced the following processes, loss of self-existence, and newly born self-existence in that order. And the basic social problem which all subjects were facing in this study indicates `the loss of self-existence´ and the basic social process which they were using to solve this problem indicates `becoming newly born in self-existence´ .
Seven hypothetical statements were derived from the relationship among the core category and the other categories. The statements were validated by going back to the data. As a result, three types were observed and four hypotheses were derived from the validation.
1. Under the condition of severs psychological weight, the breaking away from family, and the psychological absence of the parents, "Becoming newly born in self-existence" proceeds through self-confrontation, self disclosure, intimate relationship experience, substitution toward reconciliation, emancipation, self-striving for realistic independence, and hope.
2. Under the condition of severe breaking away from family, and the psychological absence of the parent, "Becoming newly born in self-existence" proceeds through self introspection, self disclosure, and discovery of the drug abuse toward the conventional norm pursuit, self-striving for realistic independence, and hope.
3-1. Under the condition of the mild psychological weight, breaking away from family, and the psychological absence of the parents, "Becoming newly born in self-existence" proceeds through self introspection, and intimate relationship experience, toward the conventional norm pursuit, socialization, and self-striving for realistic independence.
3-2. Under condition of the mild psychological weight, breaking away from family, and the psychological absence of the parents, "Becoming newly born in self-existence" proceeds through self introspection, self-confrontation, intimate relationship experience, toward
reconciliation and emancipation. Also in this process, being broken from the drug and surrendering is significant intervening variables.
It is expected that the "Becoming newly born in self-existence" process will provide a framework for the development of the nursing interventions over time, and the suggested
hypotheses make it possible to understand statements among concepts about the recovery process adolescents with sustance abuse.
|