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Reasons behind G reek problem drug users' decisions to quit using drugs and engage in treatment of their own volition: sense of self and the G reek filotimo
Author(s) -
Fotopoulou Maria
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
addiction
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.424
H-Index - 193
eISSN - 1360-0443
pISSN - 0965-2140
DOI - 10.1111/add.12459
Subject(s) - volition (linguistics) , conceptualization , psychology , drug , perception , qualitative research , addiction , social psychology , identity (music) , psychiatry , sociology , social science , aesthetics , philosophy , linguistics , artificial intelligence , neuroscience , computer science
Aims The aim of this study was to explore G reek problem drug users' perceptions of the reasons that led them to quit using drugs and engage in treatment of their own volition. Design Qualitative semi‐structured in‐depth interviews. Setting Two state drug agencies in T hessaloniki, G reece. Participants A total of 40 adult problem drug‐using men and women participated in the study. Measurements Participants were asked to reflect on their decisions to wean themselves from drugs and enter treatment. Findings Participants reported that their decisions centred on the re‐conceptualization of the drug‐using community and their membership in it, the desire to restore aspects of identities that were deemed to be spoiled, and finally memories of their drug‐free selves. The importance of the distinctively G reek notion of filotimo in this discussion is highlighted. Conclusions Primarily in relation to filotimo (a concept that represents a complex array of virtues that regulates behaviour towards one's family), the desire to restore one's spoiled identity plays a pivotal role in Greek problem drug users' decisions to cease drug use and engage in treatment.