Prediction of Addiction Tendency in People Who Quit Addiction Based on Psychological Capital, Coping Strategies, and Mental Toughness

Background: Addiction tendencies have become increasingly common due to various factors, including mental health issues, curiosity, lack of willpower, the desire to escape from a monotonous life, therapeutic motives, and abnormal personality traits. Objectives: This study aims to predict addiction tendencies based on psychological capital, mental toughness, and coping strategies. The statistical population consists of all drug addicts who visited addiction treatment centers in Shiraz in 2021, with a sample size of 150 participants. Patients and Methods: This research follows a correlational design. The questionnaires for assessing Lotanz Psychological Capital Scale, Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations, Tendency to Addiction Questionnaire were used. The collected data were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics, with hypotheses tested using Pearson's correlation coefficient and regression analysis. Results: The results indicated that, among the components of psychological capital, optimism and flexibility significantly and negatively predicted addiction tendencies, while hope was not a significant predictor. Additionally, mental toughness was found to negatively and significantly predict addiction tendencies. Among coping strategies, problem-oriented coping predicted addiction tendencies negatively and significantly, while emotion-oriented coping predicted addiction tendencies positively and significantly. However, avoidance-based coping did not significantly predict addiction tendencies. Conclusions: The results support the hypothesis that there is a significant negative relationship between psychological capital dimensions, problem-oriented coping strategies, and mental toughness with addiction tendencies. Conversely, emotion-oriented and avoidance coping strategies showed a positive relationship with addiction tendencies. Therefore, teaching mental toughness and psychological capital skills can improve functional abilities and ultimately reduce addiction-related problems.