Abstract
The purpose of this study is to clarify SOC (sense of coherence), the smoking and drinking statuses, addiction, and relationship among the SOC, addictions, and admission variables including psychiatric symptoms, in the inpatients of an acute psychiatric unit. Questionnaires including those for the SOC scale, FTND (Fagerstrom test for nicotine dependence: a screening test for nicotine dependence), and CAGE (a screening test for alcoholism) were administered to the inpatients. The average SOC score of the inpatients(more than 70% of the inpatients suffered from schizophrenia) was 52.8±11.7 points. The results revealed that 47.0% of the inpatients were smokers, and 21.5% of them were suspected to be nicotine dependent (i.e., their FTND scores were above 5 points). On the other hand, 7.0% of the inpatients were suspected to be alcohol dependent (i.e., their CAGE scores were above 1 points). Furthermore, the results revealed that the degree of alcohol dependence was higher for smokers than for non-smokers. The degree of nicotine dependence was found to be higher in the inpatients with low SOC scores than in those with high SOC scores. Age at onset was found to be higher in the patients with high SOC scores than in those with low SOC scores. A regression analysis revealed that age and the degree of nicotine dependence were significant predictors of SOC scores. In conclusion, these findings suggest the possibility that SOC is partially related to addictions and the psychopathology of patients. Further validation of the evidence is necessary.
