Volume 32, Issue 1 (3-2025)
RJMS 2025, 32(1): 1-15 |
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Research code: A-10-8369-2
Ethics code: IR.UI.REC.1402.055
Clinical trials code: 1234
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Sadat S N J, Mehrabi H, Akrami N. Investigation of the Effectiveness of Mindfulness Intervention on Addictability, Impulsivity, and Distress Tolerance in Afghan Adolescents. RJMS 2025; 32 (1) :1-15
URL: http://rjms.iums.ac.ir/article-1-8884-en.html
URL: http://rjms.iums.ac.ir/article-1-8884-en.html
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Education and Psychology, University of Esfahan, Esfahan, Iran , h.mehrabi@edu.ui.ac.ir
Abstract: (135 Views)
Background & Aims: One of the most important risks that threatens people during adolescence is addictability. Addictability means being at risk of addiction to one of the types of drugs. Before addiction, addictability makes a person ready for experimental use, occasional use, and, as a result, drug use. In terms of the tendency to risky behaviors, including addiction, adolescence is a sensitive period, and usually the tendency to risky behaviors, as one of the behavioral abnormalities, begins during this period (4) and causes increasing concern among parents and society, because most of these adolescents continue to use drugs in the future (5). Addictability is influenced by various factors, one of the most important of which is impulsivity. Many studies have stated the role of impulsivity in addictability. Impulsivity is a personality trait that underlies unplanned and rapid reactions to internal and external stimuli, without the individual considering the negative consequences of these reactions towards themselves or others (8). Lack of inhibitory control as a characteristic of impulsivity causes the emergence of risky behaviors in the individual, which indicates that this process is susceptible to various addictive tendencies (9). Impulsivity is more prominent in adolescents, and studies have confirmed the relationship between addictability and impulsivity (5 and 10).
Another factor affecting addictability is the lack of distress tolerance in adolescents. Distress tolerance refers to an individual's capacity to experience and tolerate negative factors (14). Adolescents with low levels of distress tolerance may engage in behavioral disorders to relieve negative emotions and may resort to negative and destructive coping strategies such as substance abuse to cope with negative emotions (15). Studies have confirmed the relationship between addictability and distress tolerance in adolescents. For example, Faravani et al. (17) have shown in their research that there is a direct relationship between distress tolerance and addictability in adolescents. One of the treatments that has been effective in reducing addictability, impulsivity, and increasing distress tolerance in adolescents is mindfulness training. This therapeutic approach consists of various techniques and exercises and helps individuals recognize and get rid of their negative thoughts that cause unpleasant feelings in them and ultimately lead them towards addictability (21). Mindfulness intervention helps manage stress and regulate emotions (24) and also reduces self-destructive behaviors, which in turn affects the addictability that exposes adolescents to substance use. Studies such as (25-28) confirm the effectiveness of mindfulness training on addictability. On the other hand, mindfulness intervention, by strengthening a conscious and non-reactive attitude, causes the rejection of automatic and unconscious responses and creates a distance between impulse and action (29), and in this way, it affects impulsivity, which is one of the components of addictability (29-34). Mindfulness training also helps individuals develop the skills to accept unpleasant and negative emotions, so that they can later recognize and tolerate their own turmoil and negative emotions without judgment (35), thereby increasing distress tolerance, another component of addictability. Research confirms this effectiveness (36, 39). Considering what has been said so far, this study aims to investigate the effectiveness of mindfulness intervention on addictability, impulsivity, and distress tolerance in Afghan adolescents living in Iran.
Methods: The research method is quasi-experimental with a pre-test, post-test, a control group, and a three-month follow-up design. The statistical population of the present study consisted of Afghan adolescents living in Esfahan province in 2023. The sample of the present study included 28 subjects who were randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups (14 people for each group). The experimental group received mindfulness training during ten 90-minute sessions over two and a half months. The data were collected using the Addiction Potential Scale by Weed et al., the Barrett Impulsiveness Scale, and the Distress Tolerance Scale by Simmons and Gaher. The data were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance.
Results: Based on the results of this research, the mindfulness intervention had a significant effect on reducing addictability, impulsivity, and increasing distress tolerance of Afghan adolescents (p<0.05), and also this effect was more or less maintained in the follow-up phase for all three variables.
Conclusion: The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of mindfulness intervention on addictability, impulsivity, and distress tolerance in Afghan adolescents living in Iran. The results showed that mindfulness intervention is effective in reducing addictability in Afghan adolescents, and this effect was also sustained in the follow-up phase. These results are consistent with the research of Razaghi et al. (28), Lai et al. (25), Mehel Tutuk & Budak (26), and Davis et al. (27). In explaining this finding, it can be said that mindfulness techniques teach adolescents who are involved in addictability the cognitive and behavioral skills needed to manage stress, anxiety, and negative emotions. These skills can reduce stress, anxiety, and negative emotions in adolescents and help adolescents to manage their emotions in life in different ways and with healthy activities, despite having negative and disturbing emotions, and to avoid addictability (48). Other results of this study showed that mindfulness intervention was effective in reducing impulsivity in Afghan adolescents, and this effect was maintained at follow-up. This finding was consistent with the results of studies by Salmoirago-Blotcher et al. (31), Parisi et al. (32), and Broon et al. (33). In explaining this finding, it can be said that mindfulness training increases individuals’ cognitive and metacognitive awareness, which improves individuals’ ability to control, manage, and monitor thoughts and behavior, leading to higher self-control and less impulsive behavior (34). It seems that in the present study, techniques of paying attention to breathing and paying attention to the body increased the subjects' level of concentration and alertness. This increased self-control in the subjects and made them aware of their reactions and mental events, allowing them to take control of their behavior and avoid immediate, thoughtless, and impulsive reactions. For this reason, it reduced impulsivity in the subjects. Also, the results of this study showed that mindfulness intervention was effective in increasing distress tolerance in Afghan adolescents, and although this effect decreased slightly at the follow-up stage, it was maintained to some extent. This finding was consistent with the results of Gawrysiak et al. (37), Karbasdehi et al. (38), and Khiabani et al. (39). In explaining this finding, it can be said that in mindfulness, through meditation techniques, individuals are taught to establish a decentralized relationship by confronting thoughts and accepting them without judgment as just thoughts and not reality, and to reduce their association with negative thoughts and feelings, and to become aware of their thoughts and bodily sensations by increasing their presence in the present moment and creating an experience by focusing on breathing, and to change their relationship with them when thoughts with negative psychological symptoms appear in them, thereby reducing their arousal symptoms (50).
In general, mindfulness intervention was effective for Afghan adolescents and can be used to reduce addictability, impulsivity, and increase distress tolerance. Due to the lack of access to female adolescents, the statistical population was focused on Afghan male adolescents. Therefore, it is suggested that the statistical population of Afghan female adolescents be considered in future studies.
Type of Study: Research |
Subject:
Clinical Psychiatry
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