COPING WITH BEHAVIOR-ATTITUDE DISSONANCE - A STUDY AMONGST HEROIN-ADDICTS IN KARACHI

A study is reported based on semi-structured interviews with 35 male c urrent or former heroin addicts living in Karachi, Pakistan. Karachi s aw a dramatic increase in heroin misuse in the 1980s and is an example of a major city in the developing world that is undergoing rapid soci al change. The study focuses upon how addicts deal cognitively with th e dissonance created by their addiction-related behaviour. Responses t o dissonance were coded into 16 categories which were further amalgama ted into four principal groups: accepting, confessional, testimonial, defensive. Amongst other findings, support was found for the hypothese s that dissonance over religious observance would be responded to with acceptance: over physical well-being with testimony, and over respect for elders and care for dependants with defensiveness. Being currentl y off heroin was related to accepting responses and being from a more traditional background was related to testimonial responses. Results a re dis cussed in terms of Jungian response sub-types, attribution theo ry, and stages of change.