ADDICTIVE BEHAVIOR. Plan: The concept of addictive behavior; Causes; Mechanisms of formation; Methods for determining dependence; Directions of prevention. - presentation

Addictiveness is beginning to take on a global scale. It manifests itself in deviations in behavioral norms. Addictive behavior is a habit that can destroy the human body. The person tries with all his might to escape from the reality that hurts the consciousness through the use of various psychotropic substances and certain activities.

The problem of addictive behavior of adolescents

Deviation Definition

Addictiveness or addictive behavior of adolescents belongs to the group of behavioral deviations (dependencies). The concept appeared not so long ago. The broad meaning of the word “dependency” implies placing hopes on someone or something in order to obtain satisfaction or adapt to environmental conditions.

Teenagers are more likely than other age groups to become addicted. Their psyche is not yet fully formed, hormonal changes occur in the body, the individual learns to recognize himself as part of society, communicate, and adapts to adult life. Addictive behavior is very closely related to the abuse of psychotropic substances, communication with certain people, certain types of activities (sports, sex, gambling) and violations of rights and personal needs, which should make the rebel harmonious and happy.

Translated from English, the word addiction means “inclination, addiction.” If we turn to the Latin roots of the word, we get the translation “tied by debts.” When a person constantly tries to escape reality, a persistent psychological dependence arises. It is not as difficult to eliminate chemical factors as psychological ones.

Types of addictive behavior

Addiction among adolescents comes in varying degrees of severity. It can be almost imperceptible, similar to the individual’s normal behavior, or it can go to extremes. A high degree of addictiveness is accompanied by psychosomatic pathologies. Different forms of dependencies have the ability to combine and transform into one another. Having given up alcohol, a person begins to smoke a lot; Having given up drugs, many people come to religion, becoming fanatics and thus maintaining their psychological state at the same level as before.

Addictive behavior

The problem of dependent (addictive) behavior in the modern world has turned out to be perhaps the most confusing and intractable of all those facing humanity. Most people have a traumatic experience of addiction, ranging from sweets, the desire to immerse themselves in the roar of hard rock, and ending with nicotine, alcohol and drugs. The standards of modern consumer society through advertising require the maintenance of various types of addictions. In our case, we will talk about the most destructive types of addictive behavior.

Addiction is a way of adapting to difficult conditions of activity and communication for an individual, a “space” that allows you to “relax”, “rejoice” and return again (if possible) to real life. A suitable addictive agent (cigarette, alcohol, drug) comes “to the rescue”, changing the state without much effort, taming a person to slavery of soul and body. Addictions are psychological causes of personal disasters, destruction and illness.

Addictive behavior is one of the types of deviant (deviant) behavior with the formation of a desire to escape from reality by artificially changing one’s mental state by taking certain substances or constantly fixating attention on certain types of activities in order to develop intense emotions.

The severity of addictive behavior can vary - from almost normal behavior to severe forms of addiction, accompanied by severe somatic and mental pathologies.

Types of addictive behavior

• alcoholism, drug addiction, substance abuse, smoking (chemical addiction);
• gambling, computer addiction, sexual addiction, prolonged listening to rhythm-based music;
• eating disorder;
• complete immersion in some type of activity while ignoring vital responsibilities and problems, etc.

For an individual and society, not all these types of addictive behavior are equivalent in consequences.

A person usually strives for psychological and physical comfort. In everyday life, such a comfortable state is not always achievable or is not stable enough: various external factors, troubles at work, quarrels with loved ones, insufficient understanding in the family, destruction of the usual stereotype (downsizing, changing jobs, retirement, etc.) ; features of biorhythms (seasonal, monthly, daily, etc.), seasonality of the year (summer, autumn) affect the overall tone of the body, the rise or fall of mood, and performance.

People have different attitudes towards periods of low mood; as a rule, they find the strength to cope with them using their internal resources, communicate with friends and loved ones, considering periods of decline as natural cycles of life. For others, fluctuations in mood and psychophysical tone are perceived as difficult to bear. In the latter case we are talking about people with low frustration tolerance, i.e. maladjusted individuals. This can be facilitated by both individual personality characteristics (anxiety, addiction, inadequate self-esteem, etc.) and character accentuations.

The roots of addictive mechanisms, no matter what form of addiction they lead to, are found in childhood, in the characteristics of upbringing. At home, in the parental environment, the child learns the language of interpersonal contacts and emotional relationships. If a child does not find support or emotional warmth from his parents, and experiences a feeling of psychological insecurity, then this feeling of insecurity and mistrust is transferred to the larger world around him, to the people he meets in life, which forces him to seek a comfortable state through taking substances. , fixation on certain activities and objects.

Addiction is a way to control and eliminate low periods. Using any means or stimulus that artificially changes the mental state or improves mood, the person achieves what he wants, satisfies the desire, but in the future this is no longer enough. Addiction is a process that has a beginning, develops and ends.

V. Segal, (1989) identifies the following psychological characteristics of persons with addictive forms of behavior:

• reduced tolerance to the difficulties of everyday life along with good tolerance to crisis situations;
• a hidden inferiority complex combined with outwardly demonstrated superiority;
• external sociability, combined with fear of persistent emotional contacts;
• the desire to tell lies;
• the desire to blame others, knowing that they are innocent;
• the desire to evade responsibility in decision making;
• stereotypy, repetition of behavior;
• addiction;
• anxiety.

An addictive personality has a phenomenon of “thirst for thrills” (V.A. Petrovsky), characterized by an incentive to take risks. According to E. Bern, there are six types of hunger in humans:

• hunger for sensory stimulation;
• hunger for recognition;
• hunger for contact and physical stroking;
• sexual hunger;
• hunger by structuring hunger;
• hunger for incidents.

As part of the addictive type of behavior, each of the listed types of hunger worsens. A person does not find satisfaction in the feeling of “hunger” in real life and seeks to relieve discomfort and dissatisfaction with reality by stimulating certain types of activities.

The basic characteristic for an addictive personality is dependence.

For self-defense, addicts use a mechanism that in psychology is called “thinking at will,” in which the content of thinking is subordinated to emotions. A hedonistic attitude in life is typical, i.e. the desire for immediate pleasure at any cost.

Addiction becomes a universal way of “escape” from real life, when instead of harmonious interaction with all aspects of reality, activation occurs in one direction.

In accordance with the concept of N. Pezeshkian, there are four types of “escape” from reality:

• “escape into the body” - there is a reorientation to activities aimed at one’s own physical or mental improvement. At the same time, a passion for health-improving activities (“health paranoia”), sexual interactions (“searching for and catching an orgasm”), one’s own appearance, the quality of rest and methods of relaxation become hypercompensatory;
• “flight to work” is characterized by a disharmonious fixation on official matters, to which a person begins to devote excessive time in comparison with other matters, becoming a workaholic;
• “flight into contacts or loneliness”, in which communication becomes either the only desired way to satisfy needs, replacing all others, or the number of contacts is reduced to a minimum;
• “escape into fantasy” - interest in pseudo-philosophical quests, religious fanaticism, life in a world of illusions and fantasies.

The roots of addictive mechanisms, no matter what form of addiction they lead to, lie in childhood, in the peculiarities of upbringing. The works of 3. Freud, D. Winnicott, I. Balint, M. Klein, B. Spock, M. Maller, R. Spitz indicate that the painful experiences of a child in the first two years of life (illness, loss of the mother or her inability to satisfy the emotional needs of the child, a strict diet, the prohibition to “pamper” the child, the desire to break his stubborn temperament, etc.) are associated with the subsequent dependent behavior of children. How often, instead of physical contact (“gets used to sitting in your arms”) and emotional warmth, a child receives a pacifier or another bottle of drink. An inanimate object “helps” the child cope with his experiences and replaces human relationships. It is in the parental environment that the child learns the language of interpersonal contacts and emotional relationships. If a child does not find support, physical stroking, or emotional warmth from his parents, then he experiences a feeling of psychological insecurity and mistrust, which is transferred to the big world around him, to the people he meets in life. All this will force you to seek a comfortable state in the future by taking certain substances, fixating on certain objects and activities. If the family does not give the child the necessary love, then over time he will experience difficulties in maintaining self-respect (remember the current conversation of alcoholics “Do you respect me?”), and the inability to accept and love himself. Another problem may be emotional disorders of parents, accompanied by alexithymia. The child learns from his parents to hush up his experiences (understand, speak out), suppress them and deny them. However, in those families where the parents are alcoholics, dependent behavior in the child does not always develop (the risk is quite high), the individual characteristics of a particular person play an equally important role.

Social factors contributing to the formation of addictive behavior include :

• technological progress in the food and pharmaceutical industries, which throw new objects of addiction onto the market;
• activities of drug traffickers;
• urbanization, weakening interpersonal ties between people.

For some social groups, dependent behavior is a manifestation of group dynamics (teenage group, informal association, sexual minority, just male company).

An important factor in the formation of addictive behavior is played by the psychophysiological characteristics of a person, typological characteristics of the nervous system (adaptability, sensitivity), character type (unstable, hyperthymic, epileptoid accentuation in alcoholics and drug addicts), low stress resistance, neurotic personality development, obsessive (building protective mental structures) or compulsive (releasing anxiety through action, e.g. overeating, drinking) character.

Addiction often has a harmless beginning, an individual course (with increasing dependence) and an outcome. Motivation for behavior is different at different stages.

Stages of addictive behavior (according to T.P. Korolenko and T.A. Donskikh):

1. "First attempts." Initially, exposure to the drug occurs episodically, with positive emotions and maintaining control.
2. "Addictive rhythm" A stable individual rhythm of use with relative control is gradually formed. This stage is often called the stage of psychological dependence, when the drug actually helps to improve the psychophysical state for a while. Gradually, addiction to ever larger doses of the drug occurs, at the same time socio-psychological problems accumulate and maladaptive behavior patterns intensify.
3. “Addictive behavior” (addiction becomes a stereotypical response mechanism). Characterized by an increased rhythm of use at maximum doses, the appearance of signs of physical dependence with signs of intoxication and complete loss of control. The addict's defense mechanism is expressed in persistent denial of his existing psychological problems. But on a subconscious level, a feeling of anxiety, restlessness, and trouble arises (hence the appearance of defensive reactions). There is an internal conflict between “I am the same” and “I am addicted”.
4. Complete predominance of addictive behavior. The original "I" is destroyed. The drug ceases to bring pleasure, it is used in order to avoid suffering or pain. All this is accompanied by gross personality changes (even mental disorder), contacts are extremely difficult.
5. "Catastrophe". Personality is destroyed not only mentally, but also biologically (chronic intoxication leads to damage to organs and vital systems of the human body).

At the final stage, addicts often violate public order, extort money, and commit thefts; There is always a risk of committing suicide. Main motives: despair, hopelessness, loneliness, isolation from the world. Emotional breakdowns may occur: aggression, rage, which are replaced by depression.

A characteristic feature of addictive behavior is its cyclical nature. Let us list the phases of one cycle:

• presence of internal readiness for addictive behavior;
• increased desire and tension;
• anticipation and active search for an object of addiction;
• receiving an object and achieving specific experiences, relaxation;
• remission phase (relative rest).

Then the cycle is repeated with individual frequency and severity (for one addict the cycle can last a month, for another - one day).

Dependent behavior does not necessarily lead to illness, but naturally causes personality changes and social maladjustment. Ts.P. Korolenko and T.A. Donskoy focuses on the formation of an addictive attitude - a set of cognitive, emotional and behavioral characteristics that cause an addictive attitude towards life.

The addictive attitude is expressed in the appearance of an overvalued emotional attitude towards the object of addiction (worries about a constant supply of cigarettes, drugs). Thoughts and conversations about the object begin to dominate. The mechanism of rationalization is strengthened - the intellectual justification of addiction (“everyone smokes”, “without alcohol you cannot relieve stress”). At the same time, “thinking at will” is formed, as a result of which criticality towards the negative consequences of addictive behavior and addictive environment is reduced (“I can control myself”; “all drug addicts are good people”). Distrust of “others” also develops, including specialists trying to provide medical and social assistance to the addict (“they can’t understand me because they themselves don’t know what it is”).

Forms of addiction

Addictive behavior that manifests itself in adolescence is completely no different from that of an adult. There are 2 subspecies:

1. chemical;
2. non-chemical.

Chemical addiction consists of the use of any substances that can influence the central nervous system, activating pleasure centers (alcoholism, substance abuse, drug addiction, tobacco smoking, hookah smoking, smoking mixtures, medications, some types of poisons).

Non-chemical types of addiction include any activity that destroys the individual’s psyche. Until recently, such concepts as gambling addiction, nomophobia and social network addiction did not exist at all, but today they are also included in the list of non-chemical addictions. This also includes addictive sexual behavior, overeating, headaches, workaholism, prolonged listening to low-frequency music, participation in sects, extremist groups, manipulation of one’s mental state, masochism, etc. The list can be continued endlessly. Today, the problem of mental disorders in adolescent children is very acute.

Addictive behavior can lead to serious consequences in the future both for the individual and for others:

• manic syndrome;
• psychosomatic diseases;
• tendency toward homicide or suicide;
• a complete severance of ties with society;
• schizophrenia;
• personality degradation.

The main thing is to figure out what could be the reason for the desire to escape from reality and to show aggression towards the world around us.

Prevention

In adolescence, all problems are perceived more acutely, so timely prevention of addictive behavior is an important measure. It is important to understand that the addict himself is a disoriented person living in his own world.

He has low self-esteem, he is constantly under stress, which provokes disturbances in the functioning of the central nervous system and the whole body. Preventive measures consist of psychological effects on individuals:

• A teenager needs to recognize the problem and understand what will help make him happy.
• Learn to position yourself in the world, among your peers, at home. A teenager must clearly understand who he is and what he wants to achieve, and understand which of the people nearby really care about him. Each conclusion is approached very carefully so that psychological defense does not work against you.
• We need to help the child change his lifestyle, find an activity that will have a beneficial effect on his state of mind.
• It is important to teach a child to solve his problems, and not to close himself off from them through addictive behavior. For this, various trainings and psychological exercises are used. It is important to teach your child to relax through meditation, visualization or any other method. Often addiction begins to manifest itself due to great mental and physical stress.
• The final stage of prevention involves the effective transfer of acquired skills and concepts into real life.

Provoking factors

Any action performed by a person has its own background, a reason that prompted the individual. Based on the psychological portrait, the risk zone includes children who are too vulnerable, more susceptible than others, exposed to domestic violence, and brought up in strict conditions. The individual asks for help with all his behavior. And this cannot be ignored.

Psychologists identify 4 main reasons.

1. Socio-economic: global and traditional.
2. Constitutional-biological.
3. Social.
4. Individual.

Socio-economic

A global factor of a socio-economic nature is the country’s entry into the global economic market, which leads to the spread of new gadgets, drugs, alcoholic beverages, and affects teenagers’ perception of the world as a whole.

Prerequisites for addictive behavior in adolescents

Traditional causes are factors inherent in certain social groups within a country. This includes tolerance to alcohol, early marriage, tobacco smoking, and soft drugs (marijuana, hemp).

Constitutional-biological

The constitutional-biological factor lies in the peculiarities of the development of the individual’s psyche. Very often a person cannot position himself otherwise than through doping. Mental disorders often begin to appear during adolescence. Some of them are acquired during the process of growing up, while others are brought from childhood. Fear of the dark often develops in adolescence into a fear of mirrors, reluctance to be alone, persecution mania, etc. The concept of neuropsychic disabilities includes lesions of the brain of varying severity (trauma, concussion, hemorrhage, intracranial pressure), emotional-volitional underdevelopment, mental backwardness. A separate group includes mental disorders such as psychopathy and character accentuations.

The following types of character accentuations in adolescents are most closely associated with the need to consume psychoactive components:

• hyperthymic;
• hyperexcitable;
• hysterical;
• epileptoid;
• unstable.

The most common unstable type of character accentuation among adolescents. It is very difficult to immediately jump from negative to positive feelings. Teenagers try to do this using a method that does not require special effort and productive activity, which is easily accomplished with the help of psychoactive substances.

Social

Among the most dangerous social factors is the family. Next in degree is the success of adaptation in a certain environment, society, and the social environment as a whole. The media, the Internet and other sources have a huge influence on the emergence of addiction. But the family environment is the basis for the formation of a full-fledged personality.

The main driving factors and mistakes in education are:

• abuse of medications, alcohol and other substances in front of a child;
• mental disorders of parents;
• hyperprotection – increased care (the child grows up weak-willed), hypoprotection – lack of attention (the individual is left alone with his problems, the child is constantly left to his own devices);
• incongruence;
• unstable emotional state of one of the parents, when praise and reproach completely depend on the mood of the adult;
• misunderstanding, lack of care on the part of parents.

Incorrect upbringing of the hyperprotection type

Individual psychological

This includes the teenager’s desire to fit in with a socially significant group of peers or an older group of teenagers. Imitation of children who drink alcohol, psychotropics, the desire to show themselves as a full-fledged unit of society. Very often, by refusing to perform actions that are considered significant in a certain social group, a teenager becomes the subject of ridicule and child bullying. Therefore, a weak personality follows the lead of more influential people.

Personal distress is triggered by the presence of abnormal character traits (hedonism, decreased or increased self-esteem, mental instability, adventurism, increased conformity).

This group of factors includes protest reactions against pedagogical pressure from adults and peers, neutralization of negative emotions, and curiosity. In the process of personality development, addictive behavior can be influenced by any factor, both negative and positive. The causes of addiction in adolescents are very multifaceted and cannot be fundamental to the behavior of a particular individual.

The main role is given to the teenager’s experience of his personal “drama” - interpersonal conflict.

Addictive behavior is not just drug addiction

Psychiatrists are confident that addictive behavior is not only drug addiction, alcoholism, smoking and substance abuse. According to scientists, these are sexual deviations (exhibitionism, voyeurism, pedophilia, and so on), and a craving for bad company, and sexual orientation. Even juvenile delinquency is directly related to a young person’s predisposition to addictive behavior. This makes the study of the prerequisites for such behavior extremely important for our entire civilization.

Scientists proceed from the fact that it is normal for an adult to make independent decisions and take personal responsibility for his own words and actions. Children, as a rule, feel under the care of adults - safe and happy without responsibility.

If for some reason a person was unable to become an adult or became one incompletely, with mental errors, such a person will most likely become dependent. What it will depend on is another question. Some will live their whole lives holding on to their mother’s skirt, others will begin to steal radios from cars at the insistence of their older “comrades”, a third will become cruel to animals, and others will become addicted to drugs, alcohol and glue. These are not all options for the development of events, but each of them indicates dependent human behavior. In most situations, the reason for the willingness to obey itself should be sought in childhood.

Formation of the syndrome

Addiction develops much faster in adolescents than in adults. From the moment of the first tests until the onset of withdrawal symptoms, only a couple of months pass. Addiction is formed in several stages:

• first samples;
• addictive rhythm;
• established addictive behavior;
• prevalence of addiction;
• addictive catastrophe.

The first symptoms of addiction are disorders of the nervous system. Teenagers become irritable, react aggressively to any attempts to talk, become depressed, there are obvious mood swings, sleep disturbances, hallucinations, and phobic disorders appear. As a result of constant overstimulation of the central nervous system, the individual often wakes up, has nightmares, and quickly loses energy. Due to constant fatigue and sleep disturbances, the brain begins to produce various scary pictures that are perceived as real. Teenagers think they see spiders, dead people, scary animals, otherworldly, fantastic creatures.

Symptoms of addiction formation

Teenagers reach the stage of mental degradation much faster than adults. The individual begins to lag far behind his peers in psychomotor development. The teenager cannot concentrate on a specific object, memory impairment is observed, and the skin acquires a grayish tint.

The prognosis for chemical dependence at any stage in adolescents will be unfavorable. Most children are completely unwilling to succumb to treatment, considering their behavior to be the norm.

Strengthen the moral education of schoolchildren

It is harmonious to include information of an anti-drug ideological orientation into the educational process. Provide information to children and parents about drug addiction as a disease that a person acquires by his own choice. To provide information to children and parents about the technology of anesthesia as a technology of instrumental aggression aimed at destroying the Russian gene pool. Educate parents on the problem of drug addiction as an addictive behavior that is becoming widespread, their role in this problem, and familiarize them with the signs of drug use by children. Explore with children and adolescents the reasons why they are offered drugs; factors contributing to proposal acceptance and rejection. Emphasize the weakness of the nature of a person who makes his choice in favor of drugs in order to use them to solve emotional problems; lack of responsibility of choice, since it deprives loved ones of choice, who become codependent not of their own free will. Explore together with children and adolescents the process of formation of addictive behavior, discriminating against it in the discussion. Prove the bankruptcy of a drug addict: first he pays for curiosity, then for dubious pleasure, then for avoiding pain and a short-term state of comfort, for the opportunity to feel the way he felt before, even in the presence of problems, the way you and I feel now . Introduce the history of the study of drug states by scientists. (Timothy Leary, as a result of experiments with LSD, lost his professional qualities and was deprived of his license as a psychologist. John Lily, after the second try of the drug, made a suicide attempt and went blind for several days. A dolphin, who was injected with the drug LSD, committed suicide , which is an exceptional case in the animal world).

• To familiarize schoolchildren with Orthodoxy’s interpretation of the causes of drug addiction and alcoholism
• To familiarize schoolchildren with modern legislation of the Russian Federation regarding the distribution and acquisition of illegal drugs
• Discuss the connection between drug addiction and crime, AIDS, sexual promiscuity, and measures to prevent them
• Providing timely assistance to schoolchildren in solving their emotional problems
• Pay special attention to the psychological and pedagogical support of adolescents at risk: codependent, hyperactive, with experience of deviant behavior, with academic and emotional problems
• Organize training for children and adolescents in small groups in basic social skills: Communication Resolving conflict situations Overcoming stress

Possible consequences

The consequences of chemical and non-chemical addiction for the teenage body and psyche are frightening. Any addictive behavior leads to the destruction of brain cells, and chemical behavior also disrupts the functioning of the entire body, up to the complete death of organs and their systems.

The psyche of addicts does not develop, the intellect stands still. The individual is not able to solve a basic problem. Addicts do not want to take on even the smallest responsibility and constantly lie. Objects of addiction bring pleasure only in the first 3 stages; later the individual has to look for new sources of satisfaction. For the most part, at the last stage of addiction development, the subject of addiction is used by the individual only to relieve withdrawal symptoms.

Treatment options

Psychological addiction in adolescents is difficult to treat. Complete healing is possible only in the initial stages of addiction. Unfortunately, at stages 4-5 of abstinence, treatment is already meaningless. Brain cells began to degrade and most of them were completely destroyed. With chemical addictions, often at stage 5 the internal organs are only half functioning.

The success of treatment will depend on the ability to understand and eliminate the cause that served as the starting point for the formation of addiction. The individual must clearly understand that through the use of psychotropics and the implementation of certain activities, his problem will not be solved. A teenager must understand what he needs to achieve harmony with himself and society.

1. In case of severe withdrawal symptoms, treatment takes place in a hospital setting, using drugs that relieve symptoms. In parallel, in advanced cases, restorative therapy is carried out for the whole body. Nootropic drugs are indicated that improve brain performance and relieve the effects of psychotropic substances.
2. Typically, difficult adolescents are treated in groups using cognitive behavioral moderation. In a group, individuals learn to solve their problems. At the initial stages, there is an acquaintance with the situations and problems that exist in the life of each participant. At first, teenagers only listen to each other, learn to communicate and analyze, without interrupting other participants or trying to advise them.
3. Various games and exercises are conducted in which children are asked to solve a certain problem without trying to escape reality. After successful adaptation work in the group, teenagers are given homework. If there is a problem with communication, the individual is asked to visit a crowded place and make acquaintance with the person. At the last stages, the group discusses issues of successful completion of therapy and problems that have not been solved during all this time: getting rid of aggression, etc. At this stage, all participants can offer their own options for solving an impossible task.

The success of treatment is determined by the ability of individuals undergoing therapy to apply the acquired skills in practice.

Family factor in the development of drug addiction

The outstanding modern scientist A.I. Pokoev spent a long time examining adolescents aged 10 to 15 years suffering from substance abuse. For most children, the doctor identified a significant number of factors associated with infantilism:

• unstable interests;
• weak will;
• absentmindedness;
• inability to give an adequate assessment of one’s own actions;
• slow thinking;
• problems with Russian grammar.

The so-called “family factor” – improper upbringing – is also very significant in the development of drug addiction. Actually, mental infantilism itself is a direct consequence of overprotection. An immature personality is formed with false ideas about work, not ready to take responsibility for their actions and focused solely on wasting their lives.

Becoming a teenager, a child falls out of overprotective care and finds himself critically unprepared for the realities of adult life. He does not know how to be responsible for actions, cannot make independent decisions, and is not trained to conduct positive activities. Dependent behavior practically becomes a means for a teenager to overcome the need for care, and drugs (or other psychoactive substances) are an excellent way to hide from problems.

Final part

Addiction among adolescents today is an acute problem that leads to the degradation of society as a whole. The main tool in the fight against addiction should be prevention, carried out at the level of the family, educational institutions and the state. The country should have hotlines and anonymous psychologists that schoolchildren who do not have the opportunity to solve their problems in the family, school, or on the street will not be afraid to visit.

Promotion of alcohol and promiscuous sex should be prohibited. Adults must understand that the future of children depends on high-quality behavioral and psychological education.

Causes

Addictive behavior in adolescents is a serious problem that can be provoked by a number of factors: biological, mental, social.

• Biological factors represent a number of structural features of the human body. The lack of neurotransmitters that conduct nerve impulses is the main problem. Serotonin acts as a conductive element. Its deficiency makes a person depressed, always dissatisfied and forces him to look for a way to increase the content of adrenaline and dopamine. The fundamental factor is the predisposition and presence of mental disorders.
• Psychological factors. Puberty is a period of mental formation. An unformed object is easier to reconfigure and suppress. Mental and physical overload affects the state of the psyche.
• Social factors. The desire to be in the center of attention, to find like-minded people, to appear cooler than everyone else, to be understood in the family - the list of problems of puberty associated with society can be continued endlessly.