The Role of Rehabilitation Centers and Family Support in the Treatment of Drug Addicts: A Field Study of a Sample of Specialized Rehabilitation Centers and Their Service Beneficiaries

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the integrative role of specialized rehabilitation centers and the family in the treatment of drug addiction, and to examine the extent to which each contributes to achieving sustainable recovery and preventing relapse. The study adopted a comparative descriptive-analytical approach using a mixed-methods design (quantitative and qualitative). A questionnaire was administered to a sample of 248 recovered addicts across 12 rehabilitation centers, alongside in-depth interviews conducted with 24 of them and with 18 specialists working in these centers, as well as family members of recovered individuals. The findings revealed that rehabilitation centers play a central role during the early stages of treatment, including crisis intervention, detoxification, and psychological rehabilitation, whereas the family emerged as a decisive factor in long-term recovery. The sustainable recovery rate after 24 months reached 47.2% in cases characterized by integrative cooperation between the rehabilitation center and the family, compared with 18.4% in cases relying solely on the center. Logistic regression analysis further demonstrated that the quality of family relationships was the strongest predictive indicator of sustainable recovery (OR = 4.31, p < 0.001).The study concluded that the most effective treatment model is one that adopts an integrative approach combining institutional rehabilitation with family-based rehabilitation. It recommends mandating rehabilitation centers to implement comprehensive family engagement programs starting from the first day of treatment.