Examination of Consumer Motivation and Expectation in the Case of Addiction Prevention Services

The aim of this paper is to examine the consumer expectations and marketing communications related to the services of addiction prevention. The research questions of the study are the following: 1. What are the front- and back-office components to addiction prevention services and what key attributes should the front office staff have? 2. What types of service gaps occur, and what are the most critical factors highlighted by these gaps? 3. How do consumers perceive addiction prevention campaigns and what are their expectations? In order to answer the research questions, secondary and primary research were conducted, where the Servuction; GAP; and AIDA models were applied. As primary research, in-depth interviews were conducted with healthcare professionals in Hungary. Based on expert opinion we assessed the possible GAPs related to the campaign, placing the greatest emphasis on the communication gap (GAP4). To examine the consumer response, we analysed the attitude and opinion of consumers with an online questionnaire survey in connection with the communication GAP of the service, following the structure of the AIDA model. This paper presents the factors affecting the environment, implementation and the consumers of addiction prevention services. Our results highlight the importance of positive messages, family therapy and continuous training of patients; moreover, they show that friends and general practitioners have more influence on the behaviour of people than celebrities and social trends. The results presented in our study can help healthcare managers or marketers to develop their communication programmes/campaigns.

The risks and threats of digital educational technologies and products

Modern research is paying much attention to the issue of digital addiction of students in recent times since it can lead students to pay less attention to their academics. This article intends to discuss the possible threats and risks of the formation of digital dependence among teenagers from the use of gadgets. As a research method, the questionnaire method was used. The participants consisted of 13 specialists and 508 teenagers aged 11 to 14, studying in the 5th-8th grades of secondary schools. From the study, digital education increased the time spent of digital devices and technology. The authors also found that when students are learning with digital devices, they waste time on non-educational contents. The authors of the article propose psychological and pedagogical measures aimed at preventing digital addiction of students. Keywords: students, digital educational technologies, digital products, Internet addiction, prevention, gadget, typology of threats and risks.

PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PEDAGOGICAL PRINCIPLES OF COMPUTER ADDICTION PREVENTION AMONG TEENAGERS

The article is devoted to the research and analysis of the characteristics of the impact and prevalence of computer addiction among teenagers. The main causes and preconditions for computer addiction are clarified; indicators that state the occurance and presence of computer addiction among adolescents, which are distinguished in clinical, psychological and socio-psychological aspects are singled out and reviwed. Based on the experimental data, the following criteria of computer addiction are proposed: dominance, tolerance, compulsiveness, "withdrawal" syndrome, social maladaptation. The results of a sociological study on this issue are presented and interpreted. The main factors of computer addiction in adolescence are identified as follows: psychological, socio-psychological, social. Ways to overcome computer addiction and prevent its occurrence, as well as methods of rational approach to working with computers in the educational environment are outlined. It was found that computer addiction among teenagers is characterized by the replacement of real life with virtual, when there is an underestimation and ignoring of other areas of social life. The psychological and physical symptoms of Internet addiction are considered, including the major indicators that can be observed and verified by educators, psychologists, parents in order to diagnose computer addiction among teenagers, as well as to determine ways to prevent and correct it.

Validation of the European Drug Addiction Prevention Trial Questionnaire (EU-Dap) for substance use screening and to assess risk and protective factors among early adolescents in Chile

Background Substance use is highly prevalent among Chilean adolescents, and the damage it causes at the neurobiological, psychological, and social levels is known. However, there are no validated screening instruments that also assess risk and protective factors for this population in Chile, which is essential for evaluating future prevention interventions. Objective To determine the psychometric properties of the European Drug Addiction Prevention Trial Questionnaire (EU-Dap) questionnaire. Methods A cross-sectional study was carried out in 13 schools in the city of Santiago de Chile. The sample included 2261 adolescents ranging from 10 to 14 years old. Linguistic and cultural adaptation was assessed using focus groups with adolescents, the construct validity was evaluated using confirmatory factor analysis, and measures of its reliability were also determined. Furthermore, the associations regarding risk and protective factors with substance use were explored. Results Substance use questions were well understood and seemed to adequately capture the consumption of different drugs. Regarding the subscales of risk and protective factors, the analyses showed that most subscales had good psychometric properties, and few needed some degree of improvement (e.g., some items were removed). After the changes, most final subscales had good or adequate goodness of fit adjustments and good or acceptable internal consistency. Finally, the main associated factors with the substance use outcomes were: future substance use and school bonding for tobacco use; negative beliefs about alcohol, future substance use, school bonding and refusal skills for alcohol use; and negative beliefs about marihuana, positive attitudes towards drugs, risk perception, and substance abuse index for marihuana use. Normative beliefs increased the risk for all substances use. Conclusions The current findings suggest that the EU-Dap is a valid and reliable instrument, and it may help to evaluate the effectiveness of drug use prevention interventions.

Ludens: A Gambling Addiction Prevention Program Based on the Principles of Ethical Gambling

Gambling is legal in most countries. However, despite having some economic benefits, certain characteristics of gambling can have health consequences, rendering it a public health issue. The effects can be summarized according to the following three “laws” of ethical gambling: “Gambling Dynamics Law”: companies’ economic gains come directly from players’ losses; “Expected Loss Law”: the more one gambles, the greater the probability of losing; and “Addiction Law”: the more one gambles, the greater the need to play again, leading to further losses. Ludens is a gambling addiction prevention program that has four goals: inform participants about gambling and gambling addiction; sensitize participants to the risk of gambling for health, especially addiction; promote a change in attitudes toward gambling; and alert participants to risky behaviors that can lead to addiction. The prevention program was implemented during 2017 to 2019. Fourteen psychologists presented it to 2372 adolescents (48.8% females, 51.2% males) aged 14–19 years, none of whom were university students, recruited from 42 Spanish high schools in 132 groups taking different courses. The main dependent variables analyzed were the monthly frequencies of gambling, at-risk gambling, and gambling addiction (as measured by the National Opinion Research Center DSM-IV Screen for Gambling Problems, adapted to diagnose gambling disorder according to DSM-5, in which pathological gambling is considered an addictive disorder). Given that all of the gamblers were adolescents (most were minors), fulfilment of 1–3 the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria was considered to indicate a risk of problem gambling. After the administration of Ludens, statistically significant reductions were observed in the three variables of interest: monthly frequency of gambling, percentage of adolescents with risky gambling, and percentage of adolescents with gambling disorder. The results were analyzed according to sex and age (minors vs. adolescents between 18 and 19 years old). The results obtained after applying the prevention program indicate that Ludens is effective as a universal prevention program for gambling addiction.

An Islamic Spiritual Alternative to Addiction Treatment and Recovery

The Islamic spirituality permeating the practice of Muslim religious beliefs, values, and norms, is positioned to play a pivotal role in addiction prevention, treatment, rehabilitation therapy and recovery of Muslim addicts. This study seeks to explore potential interconnections between spirituality, addiction treatments, recovery, and the ways and means with which Islamic spirituality may assist addicts in coping with inner urges, relapse, and recovery. This study seeks to lay the groundwork for future theoretical and empirical research on spirituality and addiction, development of spirituality-based addiction programs, and the assessment of related current spiritual philosophies, methods, and strategies. This inquiry discusses spirituality as a source of meaning-making and purpose cultivation, self-discipline, motivation, support, reintegration, and related issues arising in these regards, and highlights the need for utilizing spirituality as a critical instrument in addiction treatment programs. Islamic spirituality however is neither – and should not be considered - a sole treatment scheme, nor does it appreciate absolute reliance on non-spiritual means of recovery in favor of positivistic empirical methods. [Spiritualitas Islam meresap ke pelbagai praktik keberagamaan, nilai dan norma, yang mana hal ini juga berperan penting pada pencegahan, pengobatan, terapi rehabilitasi dan pemulihan kecanduan pada umat muslim. Artikel ini mengeksplorasi potensi keterkaitan antara spiritualitas, penyembuhan kecanduan, pemulihan dan cara serta sarana spiritualitas Islam dalam membantu pecandu mengelola kondisi batin, ketika kambuh dan pemulihan. Studi ini berusaha meletakkan dasar bagi penelitian teoretis dan empiris dimasa depan tentang spiritualitas dan kecanduan, pengembangan program kecanduan berbasis spiritualitas, dan penilaian filosofi, metode, dan strategi spiritual terkait. Artikel ini membahas spiritualitas sebagai sumber pembentukan makna dan penggalian tujuan, disiplin diri, motivasi, dukungan, reintegrasi, dan isu-isu terkait yang timbul dalam hal ini, dan menyoroti kebutuhan untuk memanfaatkan spiritualitas sebagai instrumen penting dalam program perawatan kecanduan. Spiritualitas Islam bagaimanapun juga bukan–dan tidak boleh dianggap–satu-satunya skema pengobatan, tapi juga tidak tergantung mutlak pada sarana pemulihan non-spiritual yang mendukung metode empiris positivistik.]