Propensity for addictive behaviors among university students and its prevention

Introduction. The study focuses on the problem of psychological and educational prevention of propensity for addictive behaviors among university students. The purpose of the article is to identify the dominant personality traits of students who are prone to addictive behavior, to outline the factors which determine this tendency, and to propose a prevention program aimed at activating personal resources to overcome the development of addictive behavior. Materials and methods. The research is based on the analysis and generalization of scientific and theoretical sources and experimental data in order to investigate the effectiveness of psychological and educational program implementation aimed at preventing addictive behaviors among university students. The study was conducted using the Smirnov's addiction diagnostic questionnaire ODA-2010, R.Cattell's 16 Personality Factors questionnaire, G. Shmishek's questionnaire to identify types of character accentuations, the Eysenck''s personality Inventory (EPI), the correlation analysis, the method of determining the significance of differences, and factor analysis. Results.The article reveals the psychological features students prone to addictive behaviors, analyzes psychological factors which determine the formation of this tendency, as well as discusses psychological and educational preventative potential of addictive behaviors. It is established that the greatest number of significant connections is observed between types of personality (extraversion, neuroticism), personality traits, character accentuations and sexual addiction, computer and Internet addiction. During the factor analysis, three psychological factors (emotional-volitional, interpersonal-communicative and behavioral) were identified and described, which affect the development of a propensity to addictive behavior among university students. Based on the results of the formative experiment, the relative success of implementing the psychological and educational prevention program is noted: one third of students inclined to addictive behavior have lost this inclination and have changed the content and direction of communication and interaction both in public and in interpersonal relations. Conclusions.The results obtained allow to identify the dominant personality traits of students who are prone to addictive behaviors. According to the results of the experiment, during the implementation of the prevention program aimed at activating the personal resources, there was a change in the personality traits and the structure of psychological factors, which influenced the reduction in the risk of occurrence and development of a tendency to addictive behavior of university students.