-

Abstract

The present study aims to make a comparison between young men who are substance-abusers and non-abusers in terms of how they set their life goals and attribute meanings to life. In line with this purpose, this study was conducted through quantitative and qualitative method. In the quantitative analysis, the study group consists of 108 participants between 20 and 24 years old, 56 of whom are substance abusers and 52 of whom are non-substance abusers. In the qualitative analysis, the study group involves 30 substance abusers and 30 non-substance abusers. The scale of setting life goals in terms of positive psychotherapy and the semi-structured qualitative interview form was used in order to collect data. The independent t-test and sentence-based content analysis technique was used to analyze data. The findings revealed that the substance abusers were having difficulty in attributing meaning to their lives when compared to the non-abusers. Moreover, the substance abusers were capable of setting far fewer life goals than were the non-abusers

Keywords

• substance abuser, meaning of life, life goals

Meaning of Life-Setting Life Goals: Comparison of Substance Abusers and Non-Abusers

Abstract

: The present study aims to make a comparison between young men who are substance-abusers and non-abusers in terms of how they set their life goals and attribute meanings to life. In line with this purpose, this study was conducted through quantitative and qualitative method. In the quantitative analysis, the study group consists of 108 participants between 20 and 24 years old, 56 of whom are substance abusers and 52 of whom are non-substance abusers. In the qualitative analysis, the study group involves 30 substance abusers and 30 non-substance abusers. The scale of setting life goals in terms of positive psychotherapy and the semi-structured qualitative interview form was used in order to collect data. The independent t-test and sentence-based content analysis technique was used to analyze data. The findings revealed that the substance abusers were having difficulty in attributing meaning to their lives when compared to the non-abusers. Moreover, the substance abusers were capable of setting far fewer life goals than were the non-abusers.

Keywords

• madde, madde bağımlısı, yaşamın anlamı, yaşam amaçları

References

1. Clark, R. E. (1994). Family costs associated with severe mental illness and substance use. Hospital and Community Psychiatry, 45(8), 808-813.
2. Deren, S. (1986). Children of substance abusers: A review of the literature. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 3(2), 77-94.
3. Ebersole, P. (1998). Types and depth of written life meanings. In P. T. P. Wong & P.S. Fry (Eds.), The human quest for meaning: A handbook of psychological research and clinical applications (pp. 179–191). New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.
4. Emmons, R.A. (1999). The psychology of ultimate concerns: Motivation and spirituality in personality. New York: Guilford Press.
5. Emmons, R. A., & King, L. A. (1988). Conflict among personal strivings: Immediate and long-term implications for psychological and physical well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,54, 1040-1048.
6. Eryılmaz, A. (2012). Investigating of psychometric properties the scale of setting life goals with respect to positive psychotherapy on university students. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 15, 166-174.
7. Eryılmaz A (2010). Renew: Expansion of goals program for adolescents with respect to positive psycholterapy and comprehensive guidance, Journal of Family and Society, 20, 53-65.
8. Frankl, V. (1967). Psychotherapy and existentialism. New York: Simon & Schuster.

9. George, L. K., Ellison, C. G., & Larson, D. B. (2002). Explaining the relationships between religious involvement and health. Psychological Inquiry, 13, 190-200.
10. Gorsuch, R. L.(1995). Religious aspects of substance abuse and recovery. Journal of Social Issues, 51, 65-83.
11. Grunbaum, J. A., Tortolero, S., Weller, N., & Gingiss, P.(2002). Cultural, social, and intrapersonal factors associated with substance use among alternative high school students. Addictive Behaviors, 25, 145-151.
12. Hawkins, J. D., Catalano, R. F., & Miller, J. Y. (1992). Risk and protective factors for alcohol and other drug problems in adolescent and early adulthood: Implications for substance abuse prevention. Psychological Bulletin. 112, 64–105.
13. Heady, B. (2008). Life goals matter to happiness: A revision of set-point theory. Social Indicators Research, 86, 213–231.
14. Hodge, D. R., Cardenas, P., & Montoya, H. (2001). Substance use: Spirituality and religious participation as protective factors among rural youths. Social Work Research, 25, 153-161.
15. Kasser, T. (2002). Sketches for a self-determination theory of values. In E. L. Deci & R. M. Ryan (Eds.), Handbook of self-determination research (pp. 123– 140). Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press.
16. King, L. A., Richards, J. H., & Stemmerich, E. (1998). Daily goals, life goals, and worst fears: Means, ends, and subjective well-being. Journal of Personality, 65, 713–44.
17. Klinger, E. (1998). The search of meaning in evolutionary perspective and its clinical implications. In P. T. T.Wong & P. S. Fry (Eds.), Handbook of personal meaning: Theory, research and application (pp. 27 – 50). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
18. McBride, D. C., Mutch, P. B., & Chitwood, D. D. (1996). Religious belief and the initiation and prevention of drug use among youth. In C. B. McCoy, & L. R. Metsch, et al. (Eds.), Intervening with drug-involved youth (pp. 110–130). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
19. Miller, L., Davies, M., & Greenwald, S. (2000). Religiosity and substance use and abuse among adolescents in the National Comorbidity Survey. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 39, 1190–1197.
20. Myers, D & Deiner, E. (1995). Who is happy? American Psychological Society, 6(1), 1-19.
21. Neher, L. S., & Short, J. L. (1998). Risk and protective factors for children’s substance use and antisocial behavior following parental divorce. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 68 (1), 154-161.
22. Ögel, K., Tamar, D., Evren, C., & Çakmak, C. (2001). Tobacco, alcohol and drug use among high school students. Journal of Turkish Psychiatry, 12, 47-52.
23. Peseschkian, N. (1987). Positive psychotherapy: Theory and practice of new method. Berlin. Springer-Verlag.
24. Prager, K. J. (1995). The psychology of intimacy. New York: The Guilford Press.
25. Reker, G. T. (2000). Theoretical perspective, dimensions, and measurement of existential meaning. In G. T. Reker & K. Chamberlain (Eds.), Exploring existential meaning: Optimizing human development across the life span (pp. 39–55). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
26. Reker, G. T., & Wong, P. T. P. (1988). Aging as an individual process: Toward a theory of personal meaning. In J. E. Birren & V. C. Bengston (Eds.), Emergent theories of aging (pp. 214–246). New York: Springer.
27. Ryff, C.D. (1989). Happiness is everything or is it? Explorations on the meaning of psychological wellbeing. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57(6), 1069-1081.
28. Ryff, C. D., & Singer, B. (1998). The contours of positive human health. Psychological Inquiry, 9, 1–28.
29. Seligman, M. E. P. (2002). Authentic happiness: Using the new positive psychology to realize your potential for lasting fulfillment. New York: Free Press.
30. Sinha, J.W., Cnaan, R.A., & Gelles, R.J. (2007). Adolescent risk behaviors and religion: Findings from a national study. Journal of Adolescence 30 (2), 231–249.
31. Sheldon, K. M., & Elliot, A. J. (1999). Goal striving, need satisfaction and longitudinal well being: The self concordance model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76, 482–497.
32. Sheldon, K. M., & Bettencourt, B. A. (2002). Psychological need-satisfaction and subjective wellbeing within social groups. British Journal of Social Psychology, 41, 25–38.
33. Steger, M. F., Mann, J. R., Michels, P., & Cooper, T. C. (2009). Meaning in life, anxiety, depression, and general health among smoking cessation patients. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 67, 353–358.
34. Wagner, E.F., Lloyd, D.A., & Gil, A.G. (2002). Racial/Ethnic and gender differences in the incidence and onset age of DSM-IV alcohol use disorder symptoms among adolescents. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 63, 609-619.
35. Wong, P.T.P., & Fry, P.S.E. (1998). The human quest for meaning: A handbook of psychological research and clinical applications. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.