Research On Psychological Addiction Of Drug Abusers:Self-concept And Coping Styles As Predictors

The problem of substance abuse has become increasingly widespread and its social hazards have risen. Previous investigations and clinical researches have found that, it was easier for drug users to abstain from the physical dependence of drugs; however, it was difficult for them to get rid of the psychological dependence of drugs. On the basis of previous research and clinical practice, the present research postulates that:(a) As an important psychological basis, self-concepts of drug users could predict and mediate the addictive behavior of theirs (b) Drag users, who hold different self-concepts, may have different coping styles to life pressure. Self-concept may impact the emergence and development of addictive behavior by its mediating role in the coping styles of drug users. The present research aims to verify this hypothesis focusing on the psychological dependence of drug users by results of questionnaire surveys.According to previous documents, we interviewed1drug users who with successful detoxification, as well as other6drug users who wanted to detoxify voluntarily in Study1, who were also invited to finish on a semi-open questionnaire.500additional offenders participating in prison-based treatment program filled in the formed31-item questionnaire, and439of them were valid sample.1item was deleted after item analysis, and the reliability and validity of this questionnaire was tested. We invited those500drug abusers to fill in self-designed Drug Abuse Treatment Motivation Questionnaire (DATMQ), Drug Abuse Motivation Questionnaire (DAMQ) which was compiled by Zhong Jun et al, brief versions of Tennessee Self Concept Scale (TSCS) and Coping Style Questionnaire (CSQ) in Study2, and438of them were valid sample. We divided them into two groups:the high self-concept group and low self-concept group, also divided factors of coping styles into two types of positive coping styles and negative coping styles. Self-concept as predictor, drug use motivation and treatment motivation as dependent variables, positive coping styles and negative coping styles as mediators, the mediation models were tested by the process of SEM. The results are as follows:(1)6components of the DATMQ were extracted, which were self-awareness, social support, avoidance of body injury, family responsibility, practical conditions and emptiness (all those six components loaded on48.66%,α=0.86). The reliability, content validity, construct validity and criterion validity of this questionnaire were tested. Results showed that this questionnaire was basically structured, but it needed to be revised.(2) Self-concept of drug users could directly and indirectly predict the drug abuse motivation, and indirectly predict the treatment motivation, which demonstrated that self-concept is an important psychological basis of drug users.(3) The mediations of positive coping styles and negative coping styles influencing the association of self-concept predicting motivations for drug abuse and treatment were significant.(4) The moderations of high-low self-concept grouping influencing the mediations of positive and negative coping styles were significant. The moderation for the mediation of positive coping styles was marginally significant (p=0.05), but the moderation for the mediation of negative coping styles was more significant (p<0.05).(5) The moderations of high-low self-concept grouping influencing the mediations of positive and negative coping styles were different from each other. In the mediation model of positive coping styles, the grouping was moderated by the construct validity of the latent variable positive coping styles, while in the mediation model of negative coping styles, the grouping was moderated by the path coefficients of these variables. Specifically, for low self-concept group, the mediation of drug abuse motivation not coping styles was significant; for high self-concept group, the mediation of coping styles to treatment motivation was significant, which was more indirect. The moderations showed the complex mechanism of self-concept, coping styles as predictors to addictive behaviors of drug users.To sum up, the present research probed into the addiction model of drug users from their self-concepts and coping styles. Negative self-concept may serve to be the personality basis of drug users’psychological addiction. On the other hand, rewards of drugs and the painful experience of withdrawal reinforced their addictive behavior. Negative coping styles, such as avoidance, make them repeat such behavior pattern until they cannot give up. In the long run, drug users become compulsive depended. In other world, they become psychological addicted. Measures of Intervention in drug use and treatment of drug users can be taken by focusing on their self-growth and pressure management. In this way, psychological intervention and treatment may help those drug users and contribute to solve the issue of drug use.