Research into alcohol-dependent persons in treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Part two – the role of the pandemic and its consequences

Abstract

Introduction: The aim of the study was to de-termine the influence of experiences, both personal , those occurring during therapy, of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental perfor-mance of alcohol dependent people receiving treatment.Material and methods: The 2021 study includ-ed 454 people (351 men and 103 women) completing therapy in various treatment centres in Poland. The tools comprised the Scale of Pan-demic-Related Difficulty, the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), the Generalized Anx-iety Disorder (GAD-7), the Penn Alcohol Crav-ing Scale (PACS), the Suicidal Behavior Ques-tionnaire-Revised (SBQ-R), the International Trauma Questionnaire (ITQ), the Life Satisfac-tion Scale (SWLS), the Working Alliance Inven-tory-Short Revised (WAI-SR).Results: Among the participants, the women ex-perienced many more associated difficulties , anxiety than the men in the pandemic. During treatment, 13% of respondents have relapsed, with this being more likely among those reporting re-stricted access to therapy. Difficulties at home and in close relationships were strongly associated with symptoms of depression and anxiety. Patients with COVID-19 symptoms were characterised by a high-er degree of psychopathological severity compared to those who did not. No differences were found be-tween those who received the entire therapy "face to face", those who participated remotely and those who received a combination of the two models.Discussion: The experience of a pandemic by those in therapy did not appear to be strong-ly influenced by its course. The greatest neg-ative effects concerned domestic difficulties and problems with close relationships. How-ever, women, those who displayed COVID-19 symptoms and those who lost their jobs during the pandemic period demonstrated worse men-tal performance.Conclusions: Remaining in therapy may have played a protective role in patients with alcohol dependence during the pandemic.