The role of sensitivity to reward and punishment and moral disengagement in the prediction of craving among people with substance dependency

Abstract

Craving is considered as one of the most important factors in treatment failure and relapse in patients undergoing abstinence programs. This study was aimed to determine the role of sensitivity to reward and punishment and the moral disengagement in the prediction of craving in people with substance dependency. The method of this study was descriptive-correlational. The statistical population of this research comprised the whole people with substance dependence referring to Ardabil Centers of Addiction Treatment in the second half of 2015. One hundred and Twenty people were selected from this population through multistage random sampling and were asked to respond to Questionnaires of sensitivity to reward and punishment (Torrubia & Tobena,1984), moral disengagement (Bandura, Barbaranelli, Caprara & Pastorelli, 1996), and also to craving questionnaire (Somoza, Dyrenforth, Goldsmith, Mezinskis & Cohen, 1995). Pearson’s correlation and multivariate regression tests were used in analyzing data. The results showed that craving was related to sensitivity, reward and punishment; total score disengagement moral and components; moral justification; language euphemistic; displacement responsibility; responsibility diffusion; distorting consequences; and attribution of blame. Fourteen percent (14%) variance of craving was explained by sensitivity to reward and punishment and moral disengagement in the multiple regression analysis results.The results of this study demonstrated that moral disengagement and sensitivity to reward and punishment might have a significant role in predicting craving among substance abusers.