The Assessment of Difficulty in Emotion Regulation and Craving based on the Sensitivity of Brain-Behavioral Systems and Levels of Loneliness

The purpose of this study was the comparison of difficulty in emotion regulation and craving based on the sensitivity of brain-behavioral systems and levels of loneliness. In this study, Factorial design of nonequivalent groups were used. The study population consisted of all women with addiction in Kerman who referred to clinics and treatment centers during 2017. The initial research sample included 580 people who were selected by convenience method. Groups were defined according to the loneliness and brain-behavioral systems, that included each group between 21 and 24 subjects. Data were collected using the Craving Beliefs Questionnaire, Jackson's Five Factor Questionnaire, difficulty in emotion regulation Scale and Loneliness Scale. For data analysis were used multivariate analysis of variance (factorial two-way) and Tukey's post hoc test. The findings showed that the main effect of behavioral brain systems on the difficulty in emotion regulation and craving is significant, but the main effect of loneliness on the difficulty in emotion regulation and craving is not significant. The interactive effect of loneliness and brain-behavioral systems was significant on the difficulty in emotion regulation and craving. Among the groups based on the severity of the activity of the three brain-behavioral systems, the highest rates of craving were in the high FFFS group and the lowest in the low FFFS. In sum, the effect of loneliness on the difficulty in emotion regulation and craving is exacerbated and significant that the interactive effect of loneliness and the high FFFS be investigated.