ABSTRACT

Kuva Kaija Tikkanen

UNIVERSITY OF KUOPIO, Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Nursing Science

Nursing science: Teacher training of nursing science

TIKKANEN KAIJA

The dynamic process of despair and hope in drug rehabilitation as described by young drug abusers

Master´s thesis 95p, 3 appendices (9p)

Advisors: Senior lecturer, Jari Kylmä, Ph.D. Dean, Taru Juvakka, RN, Ph.D. Psychotherapist, Tuula Lahtinen, M.NSc.

January 2004

Key words: despair, hope, the young, drugs

The aim of the study was to describe the process of hope in a young person undergoing rehabilitation from drug abuse. The tasks of the study were what the young say about hope, despair and the factors supporting and complicating their awareness of hope. The study was made among 12 young adults aged 18 - 25 years, five females and seven males. They were undergoing drug rehabilitation in private rehabilitation units. Open unstructured individual interviews (n=4), one semi-structured individual interview (n=1) and two semi-structured group interviews (n=5, n=3) were used as the collecting methods of the material. The material was analysed inductively using the method of analysis of the contents.

The emerging describing factors of the world of drugs were the values and attitudes in it, human relationships and their lack of confidence , the use and the selling of drugs, the guilt and worry felt, how the young experiences life, the contents of everyday life, and the making for rehabilitation. The emerging describing factors of the process of rehabilitation were coming to the drug rehabilitation and its early stages, social experience, and the recovery from drug abuse. According to the results of the study, despair is an internal conflict between reality and a real desire, of which the obscurity of the purpose of life and the narrowing of life are part of. Hope is an individual, omnipresent and positive basic asset of humanity which can increase. The intensity of hope experience was related to the length of rehabilitation time. The same factors can serve both as supporting and complicating elements in awareness of hope depending on the life situation of the young. The factors complicating the awareness of hope are to the drug abuse related anguish, loneliness, the sense of losing control over one´s life and the sense of losing one´s own humanity. The factors supporting the awareness of hope are the desire of the young to be free of drugs, the reminiscence of the earlier normal life, the realization of new possibilities in life in the present, and the orientation into the future.

The results of this study can be utilised when developing methods of treatment and rehabilitation of young drug addicts, in forming theory in nursing science, and in future research. 

Hope at 15 - 20 Years of Age, its Maintainance and Fortification

Abstract 

The purpose of the thesis was to describe hope and the factors that maintain and fortify it from the point of the young`s view aged between 15 and 20 years. The thesis sought answers to the following questions: What is hope as the young describe it? How do they maintain and fortify hope themselves? How do their own actions maintain and fortify hope? How can another person maintain and fortify the young`s hope? The method of approach in the thesis was qualitative with 52 youngsters participating. When gathering the material, the method of triangulation was used by incorporating individually held interviews (15), through e-mail received replies (21), and internet discussions requiring login (16). In addition, repeated interviews were held (6). The material was analysed by using inductive analysis of the contents. In the material analysis quantification of the material was utilized.

The results show that the young`s sense of hope is the basic element of everyday life. Hope also means peaceful safety, awareness of continuity, faith and trust in God and the future, as well as in achieving the personal goals. Hope is personal, unseen and ever existing. The intensity of hope varies and can be reinforced. Hope encourages and carries the young on in life. It gives them strength to await the realization of goals and reminds them of a better life. For the maintainance and fortification it is important that the young trust in hope`s existence, and that other people respect the hope of the young.

The maintaining and fortifying activities of the young themselves consist of both the work of their inner life and the concrete procedures. The work of inner life shows itself as a positive attitude to life, future orientation, remembering the continuity of life and understanding the past. Quantitatively, the most frequently expressed aspects were a positive attitude to life and the future outlook.

The conrete activities are activities related to culture, a relationship to another person, own creativity, and the environment. The maintaining and fortifying factors of concrete activities clarify how to maintain and fortify the young`s hope through these activities. These factors are the strengthening of life force, the growing understanding of life, the use of comforting own space, and the possibilities of development. Reinforcement of life force was the most frequently stated factor amid the different forms of activity.

Other persons` maintaining and fortifying performance regarding the young`s hope is composed of securing the young`s fundamentals, genuine caring as well as introducing them the concept of hope.

The aim of the thesis was through the produced data to increase the understanding of the phenomenon of little research, both on a national and an international level, to contribute to the improvement of the young`s health and health care, as well as to nursing-scientific knowledge base in relation to youngsters` sense of hope. The research results present a ground for the development of nursing interventions and of evidence based nursing, for the promotion of the young`s health in different fields of activity, as well as for the further research of the topic.

Key words: the young, hope, maintaining of hope, fortification of hope

Doctor´s dissertation