Social-Psychological Characteristics on Formation of Addictive Behavior

Abstract

Objectives. To study the social-psychological predictors of the formation of different types of addictive behavior. Materials and methods. The study addressed a total of 36 people aged 22–50 years with the following types of addiction – nicotine, alcohol, narcotics, internet and similar addictions, and extreme sports addiction. The study was run using a number of psychologically oriented scales and questionnaires to evaluate the type of psychological defense, basic ideas about the world and value orientations, and the features of premorbid personality in relation to the existence and characteristics of its accentuation. Results and conclusions. The data obtained here provide evidence of the existence of a whole series of social-psychological predictors which might determine formation of particular types of addictive behavior.