The Relationships of Family Communication Patterns and Psychopathic Traits with Addiction Readiness: By Testing the Mediating Role of Moral Disengagement

The current research aimed to investigate the relationships of family communication patterns and psychopathic traits with addiction readiness by testing the mediating role of moral disengagement.

The research method was correlational of path analysis type. The statistical population included the students of Bojnord Azad University (2640 people) in the academic year 2021-2022, which 200 people were selected by convenient sampling method using an online questionnaire. Instruments consisted of the family communication patterns questionnaire, the psychopathic traits inventory, the addiction readiness scale, and the moral disengagement scale. Pearson's correlation coefficient and path analysis were used to analyze the data.

According to the model findings, the direct effect of the conversation orientation variable on addiction readiness was negative, and the effects of the variables of conformity orientation, psychopathic, and moral disengagement on addiction readiness were positive. In addition, the mediating role of moral disengagement in the relationships of family communication patterns and psychopathic traits with addiction readiness was confirmed.

It can be said that the presence of problems in family communication patterns (low conversation and high conformity) and psychopathic traits can bring about addiction readiness for individuals. Moreover, if moral disengagement is high and is associated with these two variables, we can see a high degree of addiction readiness in teenagers and young people. These results are an important step toward recognizing the effective factors in addiction readiness, and by identifying these causes, appropriate treatment and preventive programs can be applied.