Impact of Cognitive Behavior Therapy on Psychological Distress, Motivation, and Quality of Life in Individuals Pursuing Smoking Cessation

This study aimed to investigate the effect of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) on the psychological distress, motivation, and quality of life of people with substance use disorders. An experimental pretest-posttest research design was used in this study. Sixty subjects were recruited through purposive sampling from public and private hospitals/clinics in Punjab, Pakistan. To gather data, ASSIST (Alcohol, Smoking, and Substance Involvement Screening Test), CDS (Cigarette Dependency Scale), DASS (Depression Anxiety Stress Scale), MATCH (Motivation and Attitude Towards Changing Health), and WHOQOL-Bref (World Health Organization quality of life-bref) were used. The results demonstrated significant differences between experimental and control groups in pre-posttest analysis. The M (SD) of ASSIST [Pretest score: 20.63 (4.67) and posttest score: 15.53 (4.54)] p<.01 with effect size ηp2 .221. Similarly, CDS [pretest: 32.77(6.58), posttest: 21.63(6.32)] p<.000, ηp2 .538. DASS [pretest: 50.37(7.66), posttest score: 36.70(9.57)], p<.000 ηp2 .723, likewise MATCH [pretest:36.50(5.90) posttest: 31.30(6.82)], p<.01, ηp2 .160 and QOL [Pretest: 78.86(16.02), posttest 102.71(11.96)], p<.000 and ηp2 is 0.559. Further, ASSIST was positively correlated with CDS (p-value <0.01 r=.38) and negatively correlated with motivation (p-value (p-value<0.01, r=.25) and QOL (p-value<0.01r=-.30) of smokers. The effectiveness of CBT in alleviating psychological distress while augmenting motivational levels and quality of life of individuals afflicted with substance use disorders is remarkable; the findings of this study may be applied within counselling and psychotherapy settings to facilitate interventions for those suffering from substance use disorders.