The Role of Impulsivity and Cognitive Emotion Regulation in the Tendency Toward Addiction in Male Students

Background: Addiction is one of the most important issues today that has affected all institutions, including the family and the society, and the close connection between this issue and the correct methods of raising children in the family is undeniable. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the role of impulsivity and cognitive emotion regulation in the tendency toward addiction in students of Ardabil universities. Methods: The methodology applied in this research was descriptive correlation. A total of 520 male students who study at Ardabil universities were selected by 2-stage random sampling. To measure the variables, the Barratt Impulsivity Scale, the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ-P), and the Addiction Preparation Scale of Weed and Butcher were used. Results: To analyze the findings, the Pearson correlation coefficient and multiple regressions were used. The obtained results show that there is a positive correlation between impulsivity and tendency to addiction (P<0.01). Also, there is a correlation among all components of impulsivity and tendency to addiction (P<0.01). Statistically, there is a positive correlation between cognitive emotion regulation and tendency to addiction (P<0.01). The results of multivariate regression showed that motor impulsivity, cognitive impulsivity, nonplanning, self-blame, acceptance, rumination, and putting into perspective were significantly able to predict the tendency to addiction. Conclusions: Noting that the variables of impulsivity and cognitive emotion regulation can properly predict the tendency to addiction, university counseling centers can, through workshops, teach the students different ways of controlling these variables in a variety of situations and so they will be able to prevent the tendency toward drug use.