Problems of self-awareness among young people with addictive behavior (on the example of tobacco smoking)

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Mukachevo State University

Problems of self-awareness among young people with addictive behavior (on the example of tobacco smoking)

Kostiu S.Y. c.p.s., as. prof.

Abstract

addictive behavior young people

In recent years, there has been an increased interest in the addictions of minors, which can be traced in the works of C. Korolenko, V. Mendelevych, O. Bezpalko, A. Kapska, N. Zaveriko, O. Karpenko, M. Okarinsky, P. Husak, N. Burmaka, O. Savchuk, T. Martyniuk, I. Shyshova, O. Murashkevich. All of these researchers studied the problem of addictions and devoted many of their works to the development of this problem.

Addictive behavior of young men is considered as one of the forms of deviant behavior, which is expressed in the desire to escape from reality by changing their mental state through the use of psychoactive substances. The self-awareness of young people with addictive behavior has its own characteristics, and our study is aimed at identifying these features.

Key words: self-awareness; development; addictive behavior; mental development; youth; personality.

Анотація

Костю С.Й. кандидат психологічних наук, доцент, доцент кафедри психології Мукачівського державного університету

Психологічні характеристики самосвідомості юнацтва з адиктивною поведінкою

Експерти ВООЗ вважають тютюнопаління «педіатричним» захворюванням, і, якщо лікарі багато уваги приділяють профілактиці вірусних інфекційних захворювань, то про смертельний ризик цієї епідемії мало хто говорить. Епідемія поширюється шляхом реклами і пропаганди, на які тютюнові компанії витрачають величезні кошти. Тому важливим аспектом нашого дослідження стало вивчення психологічних характеристик, особливо самосвідомості юнацтва з адиктивною поведінкою, яка проявляється саме в тютюнопалінні.

Адиктивна поведінка юнаків розглядається як одна з форм девіантної поведінки, що виражається в прагненні до відходу від реальності шляхом зміни свого психічного стану за допомогою прийому психоактивних речовин. Самосвідомість юнацтва з адиктивною поведінкою має свої особливості і саме на виявлення цих особливостей спрямоване наше дослідження.

Відсутність спеціальних знань і навичок здорового способу життя, а також своєчасних соціально адаптивних стратегій поведінки в дорослої частини населення - батьків, педагогів, - не дозволяє їм надавати результативну виховну дію, психологічну та соціальну підтримку. Стрімке зростання кількості учнівської молоді з адиктивних поведінкою і висока соціальна значущість проблеми характеризує вивчення даного питання як одного з центральних у сучасній психолого-педагогічній літературі, що й зумовило вибір теми дипломного дослідження.

У дослідженні, метою якого було дослідити особливості психологічних характеристик юнаків з адиктивною поведінкою (на прикладі тютюнопаління), протестовано учнів 11 класів Ужгородського ліцею у кількості 60 осіб. Процедура дослідження була спрямована на емпіричне вивчення саме психологічних характеристик структурних компонентів самосвідомості юнаків. Вибірку склали дві групи досліджуваних: 1 група - учні 11-х класів, які не палять, 2 група - учні, які палять більше одного року.

У ході дослідження був використаний наступний психометричний інструментарій:

- методика дослідження самооцінки особистості та визначення індексу задоволення собою (спрощена версія Q - сортування В. Стефенсона).

- авторський тест-опитувальник (Самовідношення).

- методика оцінки рівня ситуативної та особистісної тривожності (Ч.Д. Спілберга).

Отже, з отриманих нами результатів дослідження можна констатувати наступне: показники особистісної тривожності учнів обох груп досліджуваних набагато вищі від показників ситуативної тривожності. Зокрема, в учнів, які палять, спостерігаємо підвищені показники високого рівня (65%). Показники ситуативної тривожності теж достатньо високі, зокрема, високий рівень тривожності учнів, які палять - 60%. Це є негативне явище, яке може позначитися на майбутній професійній діяльності юнаків та у встановленні взаємовідносин з оточуючими.

Аналізуючи результати емпіричного дослідження психологічних характеристик юнаків з адиктивною поведінкою (на прикладі тютюнопаління) слід зазначити, що загальний відсоток відхилень від норми (реалістичного рівня самооцінки) в групі досліджуваних, які палять переважає. Для даної групи досліджуваних, на відміну від однолітків характерним є заниження самооцінки, що говорить або ж про справжню або про «захисну» невпевненість у собі, яка допомагає відхилитися від відповідальності, та виправдовує небажання докладати зусиль.

Юнаки, які палять схильні визнавати деякі свої якості, їх унікальність, в той же час відбувається недооцінка інших якостей, що негативно впливає на здатність сприймати раціональну критику у свою адресу. У досліджуваних спостерігаємо підвищені показники високого рівня особистісної та ситуативної тривожності. Такі показники погано впливають на життєдіяльність старшокласників, на їх здатність встановлювати стосунки, самостійно приймати рішення, а також впливає на вибір будь-якої ситуації, що супроводжується внутрішньоособистісними конфліктами та призводить до конфліктів з оточуючими.

Отже, за допомогою проведення заходів діагностики та профілактики адиктивної поведінки у навчальному закладі, необхідно формувати тенденцію до зменшення кількості учнів, які палять. Необхідно створити спеціальні умови для усунення факторів адиктивної поведінки; роз'яснити сутність і зміст впливу на організм людини тютюну; сформувати навички відмови від пропозицій тютюнопаління.

Перспективами подальших досліджень є розробка програми соціально-педагогічної профілактики адиктивної поведінки юнацтва.

Ключові слова: самосвідомість; розвиток; адиктивна поведінка; психічний розвиток; молодь; особистість.

Introduction

WHO experts consider tobacco use to be a "pediatric" disease, and while doctors pay much attention to the prevention of viral infectious diseases, few people talk about the deadly risk of this epidemic. The epidemic is spreading through advertising and propaganda, for which tobacco companies spend huge amounts of money. Therefore, an important aspect of our study was the study of psychological characteristics, especially the self-awareness of young people with addictive behavior, which manifests itself in tobacco smoking.

Purpose

The addictive behavior of young men is considered as one of the forms of deviant behavior, which is expressed in the desire to escape from reality by changing their mental state through the use of psychoactive substances. The selfawareness of young people with addictive behavior has its own characteristics, and our study is aimed at identifying these features.

The lack of special knowledge and skills of a healthy lifestyle, as well as timely socially adaptive behavioral strategies among the adult population - parents and teachers - does not allow them to provide effective educational, psychological and social support. The rapid increase in the number of students with addictive behavior and the high social significance of the problem characterizes the study of this issue as one of the central ones in the modern psychological and pedagogical literature, which led to the choice of the research topic.

Analyzing the structure of self-consciousness, L. Oliynyk identifies six components: self-esteem, self-knowledge, self-esteem, self-criticism, selfcontrol, and self-regulation.

M. Boryshevsky understands the selfconsciousness of an individual as a complex formation, the structure of which consists of such interdependent units as self-esteem, aspirations, socio-psychological expectations and the image of "I". In addition, he notes that the image of "I" is a kind of framework that serves as a basis for the individual to choose a certain line of behavior, while acting as a generalized global mechanism of selfregulation of behavior at the personal level, which provides a sense of identity, self-identity of a person [3].

Psychological research on the problems of selfawareness has a long history. In domestic psychology, they were developed in the works of І.D. Bekh, S.D. Maksimenko, S.P. Tyshchenko, P.R. Chamata, I.I. Chesnokova and others. Issues related to consciousness, self-consciousness and unconsciousness have been widely studied in foreign science, especially in psychoanalytic, analytical and related schools [1; 2].

It is worth mentioning the works of A. Adler, E. Erikson, A. Maslow, S. Freud, E. Fromm, and C. Jung. An analysis of the modern Ukrainian psychological literature on the problems of the formation of personality's self-consciousness allows us to speak about a significant number of publications and a wide range of issues raised in them. Particularly noteworthy are the studies of P. Chamata. Analyzing the structure and content of self-consciousness, P. Chamata revealed the mechanisms of formation, showed the peculiarity of the position of the child himself, who simultaneously acts as an object and subject of selfknowledge; characterized the role of such factors as the child's own activity, communication, "transfer" (its essence is that the child transfers the properties noticed in other people to himself); revealed the role of various types of activity in the formation of selfconsciousness. P. Chamata's research is also devoted to various formations in the structure of selfawareness and their functions: self-esteem, aspirations, "self-image", self-control, self-control, self-regulation, self-education, etc.

P. Chamata considered self-consciousness as a holistic system that is crucial in the structure of personality. P. Chamata's scientific work led to a number of modern studies on the development of child's self-consciousness: his ideas were perceived and developed by his students M. Boryshevsky, O. Kulchytska, L. Sapozhnikova, etc. Each of them, in turn, trained a galaxy of scholars who substantiated their vision of the problem of consciousness and self-awareness.

Methods

In the study, which aimed to investigate the peculiarities of psychological characteristics of young men with addictive behavior (on the example of tobacco smoking), 60 students of the 11th grade of the Uzhhorod Lyceum were tested. The research procedure was aimed at empirically studying the psychological characteristics of the structural components of young men's self-awareness. The sample consisted of two groups of subjects: Group 1 - 11th grade students who do not smoke, Group 2 - students who have been smoking for more than one year.

The following methods were used in the study: theoretical analysis, diagnostic methods, methods of mathematical and statistical analysis.

To solve our tasks, we used the following methods:

Methods of studying personality selfesteem and determining the index of self-satisfaction (simplified version of Q - W. Stephenson's sorting).

Author's test questionnaire (Self-attitude).

Methodology for assessing the level of situational and personal anxiety (C. Spielberg).

Originality

The first methodology that we used to study the self-awareness of young men is the methodology for studying self-esteem and determining the index of self-satisfaction (a simplified version of the Q - W. Stephenson's sorting).

The results of this methodology are presented in Table 1.

Table 1. The level of self-esiteem by groups of subjects (according to the Q-sorting method by W. Stephenson) in %

Analyzing the group of subjects who smoke, we see that 50% of the subjects have overestimated self-esteem, which is 10% less than in the first group. Indicators of low self-esteem are observed in 17% of the subjects, and 20% have inadequately low self-esteem. Inadequately understated self-esteem indicates a discrepancy in the studied personalities between the "real me" and the "ideal me". The respondents may have increased anxiety, suspicion, low self-esteem, an inferiority complex, and low personality activity. If the subjects want to improve their relationships and well-being, they should be advised to consult a psychologist, because a very low level of self-esteem prevents them from fully developing, engaging in various activities, achieving personal success and forming a positive selfconcept.

We also presented the results of the study in the form of a diagram (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1. Levels of self-esteem

Using the diagram, we can see that 60% of the total number of respondents (18 people) who do not smoke have overestimated self-esteem. And a slightly lower figure is observed in the respondents who smoke - 50% (15 people). This indicator indicates that these people have a stable positive esteem of the respondents relationship between the "real me" and the "ideal me". High self-esteem indicates an individual's internal mental health. This means that there is selfcompliance with a personalized ideal, psychological adaptation of a person to his or her inner world, i.e., acceptance and demanding love for oneself.

Thus, according to the results of the study, according to the methodology for studying personality self-esteem and determining the index of self-satisfaction (simplified version of Q - W. Stephenson's sorting), it was found that the majority of non-smokers have adequately high self-esteem. This indicates the normal development of their "self-concept" and the formation of an adequate self-perception and a positive level of satisfaction with themselves and the environment;

the total percentage of deviations from the norm (realistic level of self-esteem) in the group of subjects who smoke prevails;

unlike their peers, smokers are characterized by low self-esteem, which indicates either true or "protective" self-doubt, which helps to evade responsibility and justifies the unwillingness to make efforts.

Studying the self-attitudes of smoking subjects is an urgent problem for both psychology and society as a whole, due to the growing number of tobacco addicts. The development of nicotine addiction is directly related to the formation of a person as a personality in general, and ideas about oneself.

The results obtained from the Self-Attitude Questionnaire show that both the first and second groups of subjects are characterized by a positive attitude towards themselves at the level of global self-attitude, but with a predominance of indicators in the group of non-smokers, in particular, 83% of non-smokers and 75% of smokers. These results indicate an overall positive self-attitude of students: a value-based attitude to their own self was revealed, which characterizes the respondents as having a high level of self-esteem.

Summarizing the results of the study of young men's self-attitudes, we can draw the following conclusions:

the subjects of both groups have a generally positive self-attitude, a value-based attitude towards their own self, with the prevalence of these indicators in the group of non-smokers, in particular, 83% of nonsmokers and 75% of smokers.

It should be noted that both groups of respondents include people with inadequate critical self-attitude. They are characterized by an insufficient level of reflection development, their self-awareness is not fully formed, the content of ideas about their own "I" is brief and limited. There is a tendency to a negative assessment of themselves, their individual characteristics, especially in the group of tobacco addicts.

students who smoke have a more negative self-image, which is confirmed by higher scores on the scales of "attitude of others" (78%) and "self-blame" (56%). Students are characterized by conformity, a pronounced motivation for social approval, and a selective attitude toward themselves to the detriment of internal honesty and openness in relation to their own personality. Under normal circumstances, they have a positive background of self-attitude, but in the event of unexpected difficulties, they may underestimate their own successes, capabilities, and increase their demands on themselves.

students who smoke have lower scores on the self-confidence scale (36%), which indicates that their confidence is situational, i.e., in familiar situations they feel confident and are focused on success, but when difficulties arise unexpectedly, their confidence decreases and feelings of anxiety and concern increase.

low scores on the self-understanding (42%) and self-management (34%) scales indicate that smokers tend to recognize some of their qualities and their uniqueness, while underestimating other qualities, which negatively affects their ability to accept rational criticism.

The next methodology we used in the study is the methodology for assessing the level of situational and personal anxiety. Measuring anxiety as a personality trait is especially important, as this trait largely determines the behavior of a subject.

As a result of the study, all students were divided into groups based on this methodology:

the first group includes students with low levels of situational anxiety (SA) and personal anxiety (PA);

the second group - students with an average level of SA and PA;

the third group - students with a high level of SA and PA.

The results of the study are presented in the table (see Table 2).

Table 2. Levels of situational anxiety severity of the subjects (in %)

The results obtained show that the subjects of Group 1 have the most pronounced medium level of anxiety - 50%, high level indicators are 33%, low level is observed in 17% of the subjects. That is, most of the subjects have moderate and high levels of anxiety, which is a rather poor indicator. The data on the distribution of situational anxiety severity levels in the groups of subjects are presented in the figure (see Fig. 2).

Fig. 2. Levels of severity of situational anxiety of the subjects

When analyzing the group of smokers, we observe pronounced indicators of high (60%) and medium (30%) levels. The low-level indicators are only 10%. That is, we see increased situational anxiety of the subjects. This situation is characterized by subjectively experienced emotions: tension, anxiety, preoccupation, nervousness. This condition occurs as an emotional reaction to a stressful situation.

The obtained results of the severity of personal anxiety (see Table 3) indicate that among the subjects of the first group, the indicators of medium (50%) and high (40%) levels are expressed. The low-level indicators are 10%. As we can see, the indicators of personality anxiety are much higher. This can be interpreted as a difficult adaptation period to different stages of educational and professional activity.

Table 3. Levels of personal anxiety severity of the subjects

The data on the distribution of levels of personal anxiety in the group are shown in the figure (see Fig. 3).

Fig. 3. Levels of severity of personal anxiety of the subjects

In the study of young men who smoke, we observe increased rates of high level (65%) and medium level (35%). There are no low-level indicators. These are rather poor indicators, which suggest that the subjects have a state of anxiety in various situations, and especially when they are assessing their personal qualities. All of this makes it difficult to relate to others.

Thus, from the results of our study, we can state the following: the indicators of personal anxiety of students of both groups of subjects are much higher than the indicators of situational anxiety. In particular, high levels of personal anxiety are observed in students who smoke (65%). The indicators of situational anxiety are also quite high, in particular, the high level of anxiety of students who smoke is 60%. This is a negative phenomenon that can affect the future professional activities of young men and the establishment of relationships with others.

Thus, analyzing the results of an empirical study of the psychological characteristics of young men with addictive behavior (on the example of smoking), it should be noted that the overall percentage of deviations from the norm (realistic level of self-esteem) in the group of subjects who smoke prevails. This group of subjects, unlike their peers, is characterized by an underestimation of self-esteem, which indicates either a real or "protective" lack of self-confidence that helps to evade responsibility and justifies the unwillingness to make efforts.

Subjects who smoke are characterized by a more negative self-attitude, which is confirmed by higher scores on the scales of "attitude of others" and "selfblame". They are characterized by conformity, a pronounced motivation for social approval, and a selective attitude toward themselves to the detriment of internal honesty and openness in relation to their own personality. Under normal circumstances, they have a positive background of self-attitude, but in the event of unexpected difficulties, they may underestimate their own successes, capabilities, and increase their demands on themselves. Subjects who smoke have lower scores on the self-confidence scale, which indicates that their confidence is situational, i.e., in familiar situations they feel confident and are focused on success, but when unexpected difficulties arise, their confidence decreases, and feelings of anxiety and concern increase.

Conclusions

Thus, analyzing the results of an empirical study of the psychological characteristics of young people with addictive behavior (on the example of tobacco use), it should be noted that the overall percentage of deviations from the norm (realistic level of selfesteem) in the group of subjects who smoke prevails. In contrast to their peers, smokers are characterized by low self-esteem, which indicates either true or "protective" self-doubt, which helps to evade responsibility and justifies the unwillingness to make efforts.

Young men who smoke are characterized by a more negative self-attitude, which is confirmed by higher scores on the scales of "attitudes of others" and "self-blame". They are characterized by conformity, a pronounced motivation for social approval, and a selective attitude toward themselves to the detriment of internal honesty and openness in relation to their own personality. Under normal circumstances, they have a positive background of self-attitude, but in the event of unexpected difficulties, they may underestimate their own successes, capabilities, and increase their demands on themselves. The subjects have lower scores on the self-confidence scale, which indicates that their confidence is situational, i.e., in familiar situations they feel confident and are focused on success, but when difficulties arise unexpectedly, their confidence decreases, and feelings of anxiety and concern increase.

Young men who smoke tend to recognize some of their qualities and their uniqueness, while underestimating other qualities, which negatively affects their ability to perceive rational criticism. The subjects have high levels of personal and situational anxiety. Such indicators have a negative impact on the life of high school students, their ability to establish relationships, make decisions independently, and also affect the choice of any situation, which is accompanied by intrapersonal conflicts and leads to conflicts with others.

Therefore, through the implementation of measures to diagnose and prevent addictive behavior in an educational institution, it is necessary to form a tendency to reduce the number of students who smoke. It is necessary to create special conditions to eliminate the factors of addictive behavior; explain the nature and content of the impact of tobacco on the human body; develop skills to refuse tobacco offers.

Prospects for further research are the development of a program of socio-pedagogical prevention of addictive behavior of young people.

References

1. Davidenko O. (2008). Self-concept as a factor of personal self-determination in early adolescence. Visnyk Mizhnarodnoho doslidnoho tsentru "Liudyna: mova, kul'tura", 17, 16-22. (in Ukrainian).

2. Brannigan, M., & Mermelstein, R. (2009). Self-concept and smoking initiation among adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Health, 45(3), 234-240.

3. Kuijpers, M., van der Linden, D., & Meeus, W. (2006). Self-esteem and smoking in adolescence: A longitudinal study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90(6), 1008-1022.

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