Relapse and Risk-taking among Iranian Methamphetamine Abusers Undergoing Matrix Treatment Model

Background: this study investigated the correlation between risk-taking and relapse among methamphetamine (ma) abusers undergoing the matrix model of treatment. methods: this cross-sectional study was conducted on male patients who were stimulant drug abusers undergoing the matrix treatment in the national center for addiction research. a sampling was done using the availability method including 92 male patients. demographic questionnaires and drug abuse related questionnaire were completed for each patient. then, bart’s balloon risk-taking test was administered to the patients. findings: participants had a mean age ± standard deviation (sd) of 27.59 ± 6.60 years with an age range of 17-29 years. unemployment, unmarried status, criminal offense, and also addiction family history increased the probability of relapse. in addition, a greater adjusted score of the risk-taking test increased the odds of relapse by more than 97%. the simultaneous abuse of opium and stimulants compared to the abuse of stimulants only, revealed no statistically significant differences for relapse. patients with higher risk-taking behavior had a more probability of relapse. conclusion: this finding indirectly implies the usefulness of bart’s risk-taking test in assessing risk-taking behavior in stimulant drug abusers.