addiction Flashcards
define addiction
- compulsion to use a substance or engage in behaviour despite its harmful consequences and you are unable to stop
- lead to failure to meet work, social and family obligations
define tolerance and features of it
- when an individual has to take more and more of the substance to gain the same effect as their initial experience
- explained through homeostasis as the brain readjusts if we start to intake a substance regularly
define cross tolerance
need for more of a substance to gain the same effect as the body becomes tolerant, seen in all drugs and cross drug families
how does tolerance occur
metabolic tolerance- enzymes responsible for metabolising the drug do this more efficiently over time which leads to reduced concentrations in the blood and weaker effect
cellular tolerance- prolonged drug use leads to changes in resection density, reducing the response to the normal dose of the drug
learned tolerance- user will experience reduced drug effects because they have learned to function normally when under the influence of the drug
define withdrawal syndrome and features of it
- unpleasant feelings and symptoms after you stop taking the substance
- follows tolerance as the body seeks out the drug
- low mood, feeling nauseous and being achy
- withdrawal is opposite to the feelings induced by the drug
what does severity of withdrawal syndrome depend on
drug used- shorter half life leads to more intense withdrawal
amount consumed- if large amounts are consumed then the withdrawal will be greater
drug use pattern- greater dependence if the drug use is frequent and regular
define acute withdrawal
begins within hours of drug cessation and gradually resolves, and is characterised by intense physical cravings
define post acute withdrawal
emotional and psychological turmoil as addict experiences alternating periods of dysfunction and near normality as the brain tried to re-organise without relying on the substance
what is physical dependence and features of it
- occurs with long term usage when a person relies on a substance to feel normal
- does not mean they are addicted
- increased tolerance
- unpleasant physical withdrawal symptoms
what is psychological dependence and features of it
- drug becomes a central part of an individuals thoughts, emotions and activities
- strong urge to use the drug
- cravings
- person feels anxious if cravings are not met and feel they are unable to cope
how does Epstein suggest psychological dependence arises
- rational system- reasoning through conscious, analytical and emotion free decision making
- experiental system- precocious, autonomic and emotion driven, behave how we feel and often act irrationally
explain how genetic vulnerability is a risk factor
- some are more able to metabolise certain substances and less likely to experience negative effects so they consume larger amounts, European generally metabolise alcohol quickly, 50% of asians metabolise alcohol slowly so they feel nauseous after drinking small amounts
- Pianezza et al found some who lack fully functioning enzyme to metabolise nicotine, and they smoke significantly less
- some have low levels of dopamine and decreases ability to activate dopamine receptors with brain reward with way
- alcoholic with variant of dopamine receptor gene associated with decreased dopamine receptor availability
evaluation of genetic vulnerability as a risk factor
+ national swedish adoption study looked at adults who were adopted where one parent from biological family had addictions, found they 2x more at risk at developing addictions themselves
=> confounding variable if they still have contact with family
+ genetics also influences personality and ability to regulate emotions, which can affect their concept of self and lead to involvement with drugs to cope
- biological reductionism
explain stress as risk factor
- use of substances or behaviours as coping mechanism
- addiction less likely if there are mediating factors like social support
- “self medication” model by Gelkopf et al proposed that individuals intentionally use different forms of behaviour to “treat” psychological symptoms
- stress is one of the strongest predictors of relapse and increases drug cravings
- robins et al found almost half of US soldiers with PTSD used opium or heroin, and 20% developed dependence for heroin
- kessler et al found men with PTSD 34% reported drug abuse compared to 15%, women 27% vs 8%
- sexual abuse in childhood meant more women were 2x more likely to develop alcohol addiction
evaluation of stress as a risk factor strengths
+ research can be used to reduce risk of stress with addiction, Matherny and Weatherman carried a follow up study on smokers and found there was a relationship between use of stress coping resource and abstinence from smoking
evaluation of stress as a risk factor weaknesses
- hard to establish cause and effect, may only be correlational
- not established for all addictions, Arvelo et al found association between areas and illicit drug use, but not with stress and alcohol addiction
personality as a risk factor for addiction
- clonigers tridimensional theory
- impulsivity- lack of planning, high degree of risk taking
- anti social personality disorder (APD)- incorporates impulsivity, 44% in alcoholics and 70% in cocaine addicts
- psychoticism and neuroticism
- self efficacy- how strongly someone believes they are capable of doing something like changing their behaviour, those with no addiction have higher self efficacy
explain clonigers tridimensional theory
novelty seeking- need for change and stimulation and seek new environments and experience (high)
harm avoidance- amount a person worries about the negative elements (low)
reward dependence- someone reacts and learns from a rewarding situation quickly (high)
explain eysenck and eysenck theory of personality as risk factor
- psychoticism- egocentric, aggressive, impulsive
- extroversion- outgoing, happy, sociable
-neuroticism- anxious, moody
-people with addition score more highly on P and N scale
evaluation of personality as a risk factor
+ longitudinal studies support influence of impulsivity in predicting later addiction- adolescents who progressed to heavier levels of alcohol abuse scored higher in impulsivity
+ clear relationship between personality and addiction, so identifying vulnerable individuals can help prevent it
- personality is genetically determined- novelty seeking associated with D4 dopamine receptor gene
family influences as a risk factor
- social learning theory can explain how adolescents see family as role models and imitate their behaviour
- Reith and Dobbie found that gambling knowledge and behaviour was passed on through routines or everyday life
- vicarious reinforcement- if they see role models rewarded for such behaviour, e.g feelings of pleasure or calm
- schemas formed as we are infeluced on our desire to try substances
- perceived parental approval means you are more likely to try a substance if your parents are lenient
- if adolescents believe their parents have little to no interest in monitoring their behaviour they are more likely to develop an addiction
- older siblings are see as role models and have more influence as they are more like them, and thus gravitate towards peers who resemble and validate their behaviour
evaluation of family influences on addiction
+ quine and stephenson found that children were significantly more likely to have the intention to have drunk alcohol if their parents drank weekly
+ tolerant parental attitudes and sibling substances abuse were the characteristics most strongly associated with increased prevalence of binge drinking
- family intervention does not look at sibling influence
peer influence as a risk factor of addiction
- mary o’connell et al said elements were individuals attitudes about drinking are influenced by associating with peers who use alcohol, experienced peers provide more opportunities, and individual overestimates how much their peers are drinking
- creation of a group norm that favours rule breaking infeluces drug use
- peer pressure
- social identity theory- significant part of an individuals self concept is formed as a result of their ingroup
evaluation of peer influence as a risk factor
+ litt and stock found teenagers who viewed their peers facebook profiles that portray alcohol use were more willing to use alcohol
+ help with social norm interventions to influence adolescents misconceptions towards alcohol
- peers are less inferential as individuals get older