Purpose in Life, Loneliness and Depression Among Patients with Substance Use Disorders in the Psychiatric Hospitals in Ghana.

Abstract This study aims to further the understanding of purpose in life, depression and loneliness among substance use disorders (SUD) patients in psychiatric hospitals in Ghana. The study employed a cross-sectional survey design. A total of 625 SUD inpatients were screened. Beck Depression Inventory-II, the revised UCLA Loneliness Scale, and the Purpose in Life Test were utilised to measure depression, loneliness, and purpose in life. Data were analysed using the SPSS version 23 for Windows. Data from 378 participants were collected for this study; after data cleaning, frequency tables (for categorical variables) and descriptive statistics (for continuous variables) were used to summarise the demographics and the three outcome variables, depression, purpose in life, and loneliness. Our findings indicate that overall, participants had low levels of depression, moderately high levels of purpose in life, and moderate levels of loneliness. There was no statistically significant relationship between depression and loneliness (r = 0.030, p = 0.567). There was a statistically significant negative relationship between depression and purpose in life (r = -0.514, p < 0.001). There was a statistically significant positive relationship between purpose in life and loneliness (r = 0.147, p = 0.004). There was no gender difference in depression, purpose in life, and loneliness, among SUDs patients in psychiatric hospitals. It is anticipated that the findings of this study will inform policies and clinical practice regarding service provision for patients with SUDs to improve their quality of life.