Mental Health

The Effectiveness of Positive Psychology Intervention (PPI) for Persons Who Use Drugs (PWUDs).

Masanda A • Journal of primary care & community health • 2026

PubMed 41634898 DOI 10.1177/21501319251380631

TL;DR

A Positive Psychology Intervention (PPI) program empirically designed based on character strengths and virtues was validated as 'practical, effective, and functionally responsive to the drug abuse treatment and rehabilitation of the PWUDs,' showing significant improvements in mental wellbeing and psychological functioning but not life satisfaction.

Key Findings

Results

The PPI program produced significant improvement in mental wellbeing among persons who use drugs (PWUDs).

Results: M = -0.63, SD = 0.25; t(20) = -2.5, P < .02921
Study used a between-subject experimental pretest-posttest design
Sample consisted of 40 male residents randomly assigned to treatment or control groups
Participants were residents of the Mega Drug Abuse Treatment and Rehabilitation Center

Results

The PPI program produced significant improvement in overall psychological functioning among PWUDs.

Results: M = -1.25, SD = 0.22; t(20) = -5.71, P < .00013
This was the strongest statistically significant finding in the study
Improvement was measured using a pretest-posttest design comparing treatment and control groups
40 male residents were randomly assigned to treatment or control conditions

Results

The PPI program did not produce a statistically significant improvement in life satisfaction among PWUDs.

Results: M = -1.55, SD = 0.4; t(20) = -1.55, P > .15033
The lack of significance was attributed to participants' 'habituated lifestyle brought by their prolonged stay in the center due to the series of nationwide restrictions'
Despite the non-significant result, the mean difference was numerically larger than for mental wellbeing outcomes
Authors suggest prolonged institutionalization may have confounded life satisfaction measurement

Results

PWUDs reported a very high perceived impact of the PPI program on their overall personhood based on qualitative documented accounts.

Participants provided 'vibrant documented accounts' about the perceived impact of the PPI program
Accounts showed 'a very high rating coupled with substantial data supporting impactful effects on their overall personhood'
These qualitative findings were described as 'essential to their drug abuse treatment and rehabilitation efforts'
Qualitative data were used alongside quantitative results to validate the program

Background

The PPI program was empirically designed based on character strengths and virtues (CSV) framework specifically tailored for PWUDs.

The program represents a validation of a piloted PPI program
Design was grounded in the Character Strengths and Virtues (CSV) framework
The program aimed to improve life satisfaction, mental wellbeing, and overall psychological functioning
The study involved 40 male residents of the Mega Drug Abuse Treatment and Rehabilitation Center randomly assigned to treatment or control groups

Conclusions

The study concluded that the PPI program was validated as practical, effective, and functionally responsive to drug abuse treatment and rehabilitation.

Conclusion was drawn by combining quantitative significant findings in mental wellbeing and psychological functioning with qualitative participant accounts
The program was deemed 'practical, effective, and functionally responsive to the drug abuse treatment and rehabilitation of the PWUDs'
Non-significant life satisfaction finding was contextualized rather than treated as program failure
Authors provided pertinent conclusions and recommendations for application in rehabilitation settings

What This Means

This research suggests that a structured Positive Psychology Intervention (PPI) program — one designed around participants' personal character strengths and virtues — can meaningfully improve the mental wellbeing and psychological functioning of men in drug rehabilitation. The study tested the program with 40 male residents of a drug treatment and rehabilitation center, randomly assigning them to either receive the intervention or serve as a comparison group, and measured outcomes before and after the program. Two of the three outcomes tested — mental wellbeing and overall psychological functioning — showed statistically significant improvements in the group that received the PPI program. Life satisfaction, however, did not show a statistically significant improvement. The researchers suggest this may be because participants had been living in the rehabilitation center for an extended period due to nationwide restrictions (likely COVID-19-related lockdowns), potentially leading them to become accustomed to their constrained circumstances in a way that made it harder to register changes in life satisfaction. Despite this, participants themselves reported strong positive perceptions of the program's impact on their lives and personal growth, which the researchers used as additional supporting evidence of the program's value. This research suggests that positive psychology approaches — which focus on building strengths rather than only addressing problems — could be a useful complement to traditional drug rehabilitation programs. The findings are preliminary given the small, all-male sample from a single center, so broader application should be considered cautiously, but the results point to potential value in integrating this type of structured program into rehabilitation settings to support psychological recovery alongside drug treatment.

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Citation

Masanda A. (2026). The Effectiveness of Positive Psychology Intervention (PPI) for Persons Who Use Drugs (PWUDs).. Journal of primary care &amp; community health. https://doi.org/10.1177/21501319251380631

Key Findings

What This Means

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