Abstract

VALENTIM, Olga Sousa; SANTOS, Célia  and  PAIS-RIBEIRO, José. Vulnerability to Stress in People with Alcoholism. Revista Portuguesa de Enfermagem de Saúde Mental [online]. 2014, n.spe1, pp.76-81. ISSN 1647-2160.

Some authors refer to stress as an agent that challenges the adaptive capabilities of an individual. When we mention stress, we must inevitably address the concept of vulnerability. As a chronic disease, alcoholism has physical, psychological and social implications. While some people enter a state of emotional disruption due to a crisis or chronic stress, others protect themselves and reduce the risk of dysfunction, responding with new resources and positive adaptation. Alcoholism is a common disease in Portugal and we found no studies specifically studying vulnerability to stress. Research question: How vulnerable to stress is a person suffering from alcoholism? General objective: to determine the vulnerability to stress of people with alcohol dependence, in order to contribute to the development of intervention strategies in nursing. Methodology: we aplied the Vulnerability to Stress scale (23QVS) to 444 people with alcohol dependence, who had been diagnosed at least one year ago. The sample was primarily composed of married, unemployed men diagnosed on average around eight years ago. Results and conclusions: in general, people with alcohol dependence are vulnerable to stress, except for Inhibition and Functional Dependency, Lack of Social Suport and Deprivation of Affection and Rejection. In relation to vulnerability to stress, statistically significant correlations were observed between age, years of education, length of alcohol dependence, number of hospitalisations and relapses. Gaining a better understanding of this vulnerability to stress makes an important contribution to a reflection on the process of adaptation, recovery and strengthening of the person with alcoholism.

Keywords : Vulnerability to stress; Alcoholism; Nursing.

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