Evaluation and training of social skills in alcohol an other drugs users

Abstract

This chapter aims to study the field of social and coping skills in substance users in order to contribute to the development of intervention strategies that can entail benefits to individuals presenting problems related to drug use, thus fostering the increase and maintenance of abstinence. Social skills can be considered as classes of social behaviors necessary for the effective management of interpersonal relationships. Coping skills refer to the cognitive repertoire used to face stressful situations, in order to solve a given activity in a resolutive way. Literature has investigated the direct relationship between low social interaction, poor social skills repertoire, coping skills, and psychological disorders, including those related to substance use. In this sense, the social and coping skills training can be an intervention of choice in the treatment of substance use disorder. The training fosters the development of the individuals' behavioral and cognitive repertoire, in order to assist coping with stressful situations, with a focus on problem solving and the abstinence process.