The Examination of Childhood Decisions and Ego States of Prisoner with Substance Use: "don’t Exist

Abstract

Background The aim of this study based on Transactional Analysis is to examine the ego states and childhood decisions of adult male convicts with and without a history of substance use. Methods The sample consisted of 200 convicts in a Closed Penal Institution in Izmir. Personal Information Form, Childhood Decisions Scale and Ego-States Scale were used in the study. Results Convicts with history of substance use differed significantly from convicts without a history of substance use especially in the subscales of "I should not exist," "I should not grow up," "I should not be healthy" and "I should not do anything" (p < 0.05). In addition, it was found that convicts with substance use behavior used "Critical parent," "Rebellious child" and "Natural child" ego states more, and used "Adult," "Caring parent" and "Compliant child" ego states less (p < 0.05). In the study, while convicts with a history of substance use evaluated themselves as more "rebellious," more "angry" and more "sad" in childhood, convicts without a history of substance use evaluated themselves as more "cheerful," more "well-behaved" and more "happy." Conclusions It is thought that parent trainings including the importance of parent-child communication will be very effective in terms of prevention of substance use.