Ravenborg, Pius (2025) Addiction and Recovery: The Role of Causal Beliefs and Shame. Bachelor thesis, Psychology.
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Abstract
Neuroscientific explanations have become deeply entrenched in the public discourse and etiological models surrounding addiction, influencing legal and healthcare policies, treatment approaches, and potentially, the phenomenology of addicted individuals. Proponents highlight the utility of a biomedical approach in developing effective treatments, facilitating treatment access, and reducing stigma. Critics, however, caution that reductionist biological explanations could undermine self-perceptions of agency and actually reinforce (self-)stigmatizing beliefs. While both perspectives have garnered some empirical support, the specific impact of addiction models on the phenomenology of addicted individuals remains understudied. In the current correlational survey study (N = 53), we examined the influence of causal beliefs of addiction on perceived recovery chances, and tested whether this relationship was moderated by shame. Results revealed no significant association between causal beliefs of addiction and recovery expectations, in line with evidence suggesting a generally limited direct influence of addiction etiologies on public opinion. However, exploratory analyses suggested an indirect negative effect of neurobiological models on recovery attitudes through shame. These findings, although tentative due to methodological limitations, underscore the need for further studies to evaluate the utility of addiction models in the context of cognitive and emotional factors. We conclude that while biomedical explanations may offer certain clinical advantages, they could also negatively impact recovery prospects by exacerbating stigma and shame, emphasizing the need for systemic approaches and careful communication of neuroscientific findings in the interest of psychiatric populations. Keywords: addiction, free will, determinism, self-efficacy, recovery
| Item Type: | Thesis (Bachelor) |
|---|---|
| Supervisor name: | Manchev, M.N. |
| Degree programme: | Psychology |
| Differentiation route: | None [Bachelor Psychology] |
| Date Deposited: | 10 Jul 2025 07:21 |
| Last Modified: | 10 Jul 2025 07:21 |
| URI: | http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/5415 |
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