Features Of Life-Purpose And Value Orientations Of Persons With Destructive Behavior

Abstract

The article says that in the modern world there is no clear regulation of the lifestyle, the ability to plan it independently is becoming increasingly important. In the conditions of free moral and ethical choice, this allows to choose various forms of behavior, including deviant. Presented in this regard, the theoretical justification and empirical data on the life-purpose and value orientations of people with destructive behaviors, alcohol and drug addicts in particular, show that psychologists are faced with the fact that known diagnostic techniques do not always reflect the exact picture of the perception of surrounding reality by addicts. They have their own ideas about life, their duties, responsibilities and other important moral and ethical categories. Theoretical sources also emphasize that there is no significant difference in these categories between alcohol and drug addicts. However, the authors found one important difference of the posed problem on the scale of "Locus of I-control", which indicates the different positions of alcohol and drug addicts. If alcohol addicts are more realistic about life, drug addicts tend to shift the blame for their difficulties to external circumstances.

Keywords: Alcohol and drug addictsdeviant forms of behaviorlife-purpose and value orientationslocus of controlsocial and moral normssubjective picture of the world

Introduction

For recent decades, modern Russian society is undergoing dramatic  changes touching on almost all spheres of life. Against the background of Russia's socio-economic and political reforms, new axiological models and socially approved behavioral standards are being introduced into the mass consciousness along with the existence of previous norms and values. In the modernized world there is no sufficiently strict regulation of the lifestyle and behavior that is characteristic of traditional culture. The ability to plan one’s own life and bear responsibility for constantly making vitally important choice is becoming crucial. In the conditions of freedom of the value-normative choice with limited or unlimited finances, various forms of behavior are observed, including deviant ones, associated with violation of social and moral norms (Dmitrieva, Karimova, & Shuruhina, 2019; Gritsenko, 2009).

Problem Statement

It is fair to say that currently the problems of alcoholism and drug addiction are quite significant. They often go beyond medicine, psychology and biology and have social aspects. Talking about the prevention and treatment of these diseases, the main focus today is on the search for new methods with the help of which it would be possible to remove certain manifestations of these diseases, to actively intervene in the healing process of a person. Diagnostic methods play an important role in the subsequent treatment of alcoholics and drug addicts; they are an important help in the subsequent rehabilitation work with this category of patients. Meanwhile, experts are often faced with the fact that well-known diagnostic techniques do not always reflect a complete and accurate picture of the perception of surrounding reality and vital moral values by addicted people. As a rule, they have their own understanding of the life goals, duties, responsibilities, which are related to their life, anyway. Answering such questions, addicts, as a rule, either fantasize or tell lies, and at the time of formulating the answer they believe in what they are talking about (Dmitrieva, Chernyshova, & Umetbaev, 2015).

Research Questions

We are interested in studying the differences between alcohol and drug addicts in the manifestation of their values and life-goals orientations. In addition, we have suggested that there is a subjective view of addicts on moral and vital categories, which generally distorts their picture of the world and contributes to further maladjustment. An illusory picture of the world creates difficulties in communication, contributes to isolation, a sense of inner tension, estrangement, which leads to difficulties in the real assessment of the situation.

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of the study is to reveal the significance of differences between alcohol and drug addicts in life-goals and values orientations, as well as the structure and psychological content of these categories, which should help to find out whether their ideas about these important phenomena are distorted and illusory.

Research Methods

In our study, both theoretical and empirical research methods of the problem are used. Theoretical methods: analysis of the scientific literature on the studied problem, generalization, analysis and synthesis. Empirical methods: testing, mathematical processing using the Student’s criterion.

The following methods were used:

• Test "Life-Purpose Orientations" (LPO methodology) Leontiev (2006).

• “S. Bubnova’s Diagnostics of the real structure of value orientations of personality” (Bubnova, 1999).

Findings

The sample of subjects consisted of 108 patients with alcohol and drug addiction, in the Rehabilitation Department of the Republican Narcological Dispensary No. 1 of the Republic of Bashkortostan. The study involved alcohol addicts (N = 50, average age - 42 years and 8 months, 16.95% of which were women), as well as drug addicts (N = 58, average age - 33 years and 5 months, women - 15.9%).

The study results of the features of the LPO manifestation among respondents (percentage) are presented in table 1 and table 2 .

According to the results of the “Life-Purpose Orientations” test (methodology of LPO by Leontiev (2006) on the “ Purpose in Life ” scale, alcohol and drug addicts revealed similarities in their ideas about meaningful life and time perspective, with the only difference that in the sample of alcohol addicts such subjects prevails (49.9% vs 25%). Meanwhile, there are fewer patients who can be described as projectors whose plans have no real support in the present and are not supported by personal responsibility for their implementation, in the sample of alcohol addicts. Both groups (alcohol and drug addicts) showed low scores on this scale, which is inherent to people who live in the future or in the past. We can say that alcohol addicts live in the past, with memories of the past, their past successes. Unlike alcohol addicts, drug addicts exist in the "here and now" mode, they do not tend to think about tomorrow. They will be very pleased to talk about the distant future, about what will happen in a year, or five. They tend to go into fantasies.

According to “ The process of life, or interest and emotional richness of life ” scale, high scores characterize people who live for the moment. There were 11.6% of such in the group of alcohol addicts. It is noteworthy that it was these subjects who scored a high point on the “ Purpose in Life ” scale. This proves that their goals in life are unrealistic and unlikely to be realized. In the group of drug addicts, such subjects were 27%. Low scores on this scale indicate dissatisfaction with life in the present. However, at the same time, memories of the past or focus on the future can give a full meaning to life. There are slightly more than half of such subjects in the group of alcohol addicts (53.3%) and slightly less than half (41.6%) in the group of drug addicts. In our opinion, this happens due to the age of patients, because in the alcohol-addicts group, there were mainly middle-aged respondents who had life experience containing certain memories.

The scale “Life Efficiency, or Satisfaction with Self-Realization ” reflects the assessment of the past period of life, the feeling of how productive and meaningful it was. High scores on this scale in the group of alcohol addicts was shown by 23.2% of respondents, in the group of drug addicts by 29.1%. Drug addicts, as a rule, characterize themselves as people who live out their lives, who have everything left in the past, but, in their opinion, this past can give meaning to the rest of life. High scores on this scale were obtained from respondents over the age of 48. In fact, these patients often use the phrases like "life has passed", "I live out my life", "children have grown up, what I’ve got to live for now" and so on in individual counseling. Low scores, showing dissatisfaction with the past part of life, we found in the alcohol-addict group - 41, 6%, and in the drug-addict group - 35.3% of the subjects.

High scores on the scale " Locus of I-Control " among 13.3% of alcohol addicts (less than one fifth of the total sample) correspond to their self-identification as strong people with enough freedom of choice to build their lives in accordance with their goals and understanding of their lives meaning. It was these respondents who experienced periods of remission of more than one year. 33.3% in the group of drug addicts also showed high scores on this scale. The findings prove these respondents being people with unrealistic levels of claims rather than strong personalities with clear goals. 41.6% of alcohol addicts and 24.9% of drug addicts showed low scores on this scale, which indicates their disbelief in their abilities and inability to control events of their own lives. As a rule, these people do not announce their future plans for a sober lifestyle in the, they do not have a clear idea about it, they have no confidence that there will be enough willpower to embark on the path of sobriety. Only a small percentage of alcohol and drug addicts on the scale of “Locus of Control - Life ” (11.6% and 14.5%) are convinced that a person is able to control his/her life, make free decisions and bring them to life. On this scale more than half of the subjects in both categories (58.3% of alcohol addicts and 56.2% of drug addicts) demonstrated fatalism, the belief that human life is beyond conscious control, freedom of choice is illusory, and it is pointless to make any plans for the future. It was on this scale that we got almost the same results in both groups, which may indicate that the opinion about impossibility to control one’s life in this case does not depend on the type of chemical dependence (Leontiev, 2006).

The results of the study according to the Bubnova (1999) method "Diagnosis of the real structure of value orientations of personality” among respondents (in percentage terms) are presented in table 03 and table 04 .

The results of the study by the method of Bubnova (1999) revealed that according to the parameter “High social status and people management”, the desire for a high social status is not customary for alcohol and drug addicts; they have no desire to manage people (54.53% and 34.87%, respectively).

The groups of drug and alcohol addicts have a greater number of subjects on the scale of “Social activity to achieve positive changes in society” (41.85% and 49.08%). Both manifest themselves as socially passive individuals.

An almost equal number of drug and alcohol-addicted respondents noted the values on the scale of "Search and enjoying beauty" as irrelevant to them (34.88% and 45.45%, respectively). It can be assumed that people who are addicted to alcohol and drugs are not fans of art in any of its manifestations. In the process of individual counseling, subjects repeatedly noted that attending cultural events was an “empty pastime” for them, without understanding, for example, what pleasure can be gained from viewing a picture of an artist, albeit a very famous one (Kukso, 2017).

The majority of respondents in both groups named as the main value for them “Help and mercy for other people” (85.44% of alcohol addicts and 69.76% of drug addicts).This may indicate a possible personal benefit, namely, the desire to create comfortable conditions for oneself. Most likely, this result conceals the idea that addicts themselves expect help and mercy. They do not intend to help, but others should help them, since they live hard lives (Bubnova, 1999).

The value of “Recognition and respect of people and their influence on others” is important for addicts (72.72% of alcohol addicts and 55.81% of drug addicts). Even minor in their severity events can lead people with chemical dependence to the manifestations of anxiety and the expressions of negative emotions. Compensation is achieved through the tendency to move away from the environment into the inner world and to set the “psychological distance” between oneself and the environment, especially, if someone (as it might seem to them in a state of intoxication) disrespects them. Drug addicts are characterized by a decrease in the ability to intuitively understand others and reflect, to play various social roles. In this regard, the behavior of such people may look odd, eccentric or arrogant, devoid of natural emotional coloring; there is a lack of adequacy of the emotional response. At the same time, they are characterized by dissatisfaction with situation and vulnerability.

The largest number of respondents (45.45% alcohol addicts and 58.13% drug addicts) chose the value of “Love”. In this context, this value may include not only self-love, but also love for others. Often, people with chemical addiction have a distorted sense of love (Pleshko, 2016). And it is rather self-centered, turned on themselves.

In order to check the obtained results on the significance of differences between alcohol and drug addicts in value and life-purpose orientations, we performed mathematical processing of data by the Student's criterion. As a result, we revealed one significant difference on the scale of “Locus of I-Control”. We believe that the psychophysiological aspect plays an important role in differences in the drug and alcohol addicts’ perception of their future, since drug addiction is known to be more damaging to brain cells than alcohol addiction.

Conclusion

After analyzing the results of the diagnosis of persons suffering from chemical addiction, we found out that most of the value and life-purpose orientations of alcohol and drug addicts correlate with each other. The respondents of both groups identified “Help and mercy for other people”, “Recognition and respect of people and influence on others” and “Love” as the most important values. The least significant values ​​for the subjects are “High social status and management of people”, “Social activity to achieve positive changes in society”, “Search and enjoying the beauty”. However, it should be noted that both addicted individuals put different meanings into the values that are important for them, which differ from the generally accepted and described in the appropriate methods. The moral categories that are important for a person are analyzed by them from an egocentric position, which adds to their psychological content, in fact, a distorted view (Kukso, 2018).

The results of mathematical processing of the data obtained by the Student's criterion revealed one significant difference on the scale of "Locus of I-Control ", indicating that alcohol addicts are more realistic about life than drug addicts, which is to some extent due to psychophysiological manifestations, since it is known that drug addiction is more destructive to brain cells than alcohol addiction. (Kozlov & Manujlov, 2002).

References

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