Relación entre estrategias de afrontamiento y trastornos debidos al consumo de alcohol en población clínica de Cuenca, 2023

Abstract

Alcohol use disorder in adults is a serious public health problem. Identifying coping strategies is crucial to creating effective treatments that improve recovery and quality of life. In this sense, the study aimed to determine the relationship between coping strategies and alcohol use disorders in the clinical population of Cuenca in the period 2023–2024. The study was of a cross-sectional analytical type, with an adult population of 18 years or older from the Cuenca canton; The sampling was non-probabilistic with intentional selection and compliance with the inclusion criteria. The AUDIT instruments and the Stress Coping Strategies Questionnaire were applied and the relationship between these constructs was analyzed through statistical analysis of contingency tables with a significance level of .05. Among the results, it was found that 85.7% of the participants are men and 65.3% are in early adulthood. 38.7% suffer from alcohol dependence. The most frequent coping strategies with high levels were: religion (55.1%), open emotional expression (37.8%) and search for social support (26.5%). There was a significant relationship between alcohol consumption disorders and the coping strategy focused on solving the problem (p=0.049). The study allows us to conclude that alcohol consumption disorder is prevalent among young adult men in Cuenca, highlighting Positive Reevaluation and the Search for Social Support as predominant coping strategies, which guides towards effective therapeutic interventions.