Logroño, (EFE).- Proyecto Hombre La Rioja served 1,630 people in 2022, of which 459 were users and 625 families, which represents 11 percent more than in 2021, with a notable increase from 7% to 9% in the presence of addictions without substance, especially to gambling with real money.
This was stated this Wednesday by the president of Proyecto Hombre La Rioja, Fernando Beltrán, in an informative conference to present the 2022 report of this entity, in which the director and the clinical psychologist of this organization, David García and Dolores Rioja, respectively.
Rioja has highlighted that, among the adult users of Proyecto Hombre, the most common profile is male, 80%; between 40 and 50 years, 28.5%; and consumer of stimulants, 41%; and alcohol, 33%”.
“The increase in women receiving treatment stands out, which goes from 15% to 20%, and those of us who attend to their problems from a gender perspective,” he said, adding that “some of them have children and the outpatient program makes it easier for them to follow treatment without abandoning their family responsibilities.”
Substanceless addictions grow
It has affected “the presence of addictions without substance, called behavioral, above all, gambling with real money, both online and in person, which from 2021 to 2022 have grown from 7 to 9%, which means that this type of addictive behavior continues to rise.”
According to the report, he continued, the best-known intervention program is the residential one, which is “the only resource of its kind in the region”; while, “perhaps the most unknown is the one that takes place in the Logroño prison.”
“We want to emphasize -he stated- on outpatient programs, since in recent years the number of people with addictive behaviors who have the ability to maintain abstinence following outpatient treatment has increased.”
Currently, 46% of the users of Proyecto Hombre in La Rioja are included in these programs, he highlighted.
In his speech, García referred to the collection project, for the care of minors, in which direct interventions were carried out on 119 young people in 2022, which represents an increase of 27% compared to 2021; and to 91 families, for a total of 142 users.
It has detailed that the profile of these young people is that of a man, 72%; 17 years old, 30%; and cannabis user, 68%; to which is added that 21% are 15 years of age or younger and that 5% attend for conduct disorders.
Alert about trivialization
It has also specified that the substance most consumed by minors is cannabis, 68%; followed by problems related to video games and pathological gambling, 10%; and 7% have already developed significant alcohol consumption problems.
“We want to warn about the trivialization and normalization that exists regarding the consumption of alcohol and cannabis, with messages that are not very forceful with the risks, sometimes highlighting their possible benefits”, and that “manage to confuse the most vulnerable, in this case, our minors”, has affected.
He pointed out that, together with this direct intervention with minors and their families, Proyecto Hombre carries out extensive school prevention work, with which in 2022 it has reached 3,345 students, three times more than the previous year, which is carried out directly with students in their classrooms and through training their tutors.