Psychosocial Factors Predict the Level of Substance Craving of People with Drug Addiction: A Machine Learning Approach

Hua Gong, Chuyin Xie, Chengfu Yu, Nan Sun, Hong Lu and Ying Xie
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Hua Gong: Department of Psychology, School of Education, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Chuyin Xie: Department of Psychology, School of Education, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Chengfu Yu: Department of Psychology, School of Education, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Nan Sun: Department of Psychology, School of Education, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Hong Lu: Department of Psychology, School of Education, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Ying Xie: Department of Sociology, School of Public Administration, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 22, 1-12

Abstract: This study aimed to explore which factors had a greater impact on substance craving in people with substance use and the direction of the impact. A total of 895 male substance users completed questionnaires regarding substance craving, psychological security, positive psychological capital, interpersonal trust, alexithymia, impulsivity, parental conflict, aggression behavior, life events, family intimacy, and deviant peers. Calculating the factor importance by gradient boosting method (GBM), found that the psychosocial factors that had a greater impact on substance craving were, in order, life events, aggression behavior, positive psychological capital, interpersonal trust, psychological security, impulsivity, alexithymia, family intimacy, parental conflict, and deviant peers. Correlation analysis showed that life events, positive psychological capital, interpersonal trust, psychological security, and family intimacy negatively predicted substance craving, while aggression behavior, impulsivity, alexithymia, parental conflict, and deviant peers positively predicted substance cravings. These findings have important implications for the prevention and intervention of substance craving behavior among substance users.

Keywords: substance craving; life events; aggression behavior; impulsivity; gradient boosting method (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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