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Conditions associated with impaired social skills in a convenience sample of crack users

The article analyzes conditions associated with low scores on the Social Skills Inventory (SSI) among crack users in Greater Metropolitan Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil, based on a cross-sectional study in a convenience sample of 519 individuals interviewed in 2011. Low SSI scores occurred in 52.8% of the sample, and there were no differences according to currently active use of crack (yes/no) or current addiction treatment. Higher likelihood of low SSI was associated with crack users in pre-contemplation or contemplation in University of Rhode Island Change Assessment - URICA (p = 0.031), high Beck Depression Inventory - BDI scores (p = 0.037), mourning a deceased child (p = 0.001), and having committed armed robbery to obtain crack (p = 0/020). Lower likelihood of low SSI was associated with 9 or more years of schooling (p = 0.001), high social support (p < 0.001), high resilience (p < 0.001), having lost contact with parents (p = 0.032), history of hospitalization due to crack (p = 0.009), and history of sex to obtain crack (p = 0.009). The findings are clinically useful and highlight the issue's importance.

Social Skills; Crack; Cocaine; Emotional Intelligence; Substance-Related Disorders


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