Addiction: Describing and Developing Addiction Flashcards
Describing addiction: physical and psychological dependence, tolerance and withdrawal syndrome. Risk factors in the development of addiction, including genetic vulnerability, stress, personality, family influences and peers.
What is an addiction?
A disorder where an individual takes a substance or engages in a behaviour that is pleasurable but eventually becomes compulsive with harmful consequences.
What is physical dependence?
A state of the body due to habitual substance abuse which results in a withdrawl syndrome when the drug is reduced or stopped.
What is psychological dependence?
A compulsion to continue taking a substance or performing a behaviour because its use is rewarding.
What is tolerance?
A reduction in response to a substance, so that an addicted individual needs more to get the same effect.
What is withdrawl syndrome?
A set of symptoms that develop when an addicted person abstains from or reduces their substance abuse.
What are risk factors?
Any internal or external influence that increases the likelihood a person will start using addictive substances or engage with addictive behaviours.
Explain behavioural tolerance:
When an individual learns through experience to adjust their behaviour to compensate for the effects of a substance.
e.g. people addicted to alcohol learn to walk more slowly when they are drunk to avoid falling over.
Explain cross-tolerance:
When developing tolerance to one type of substance can reduce sensitivity to another type.
e.g. Those who have developed a tolerance to the sleep-inducing effects of alcohol need higher doses of anaesthetic.
What are the two main types of tolerance?
Behavioural tolerance
Cross-tolerance
How can cross-tolerance be used theraputically?
The unintentionally addicted substance can be given in place of the addicted substance.
What are the 5 risk factors for developing an addiction?
- Genetic vulnerability
- Stress
- Personality
- Family influences
- Peers
Explain genetic vulnerability as a risk factor for developing an addiction:
- People do not inherit an addiction itself, but instead a predisposition to dependence.
- Genes may determine the activity of neurotransmitter systems (e.g. dopamine) in the brain; affecting behaviours like impulsivity that predisposes someone to dependence.
- Kendler looked at adults who had been adopted as children from families where at least one biological parent had an addiction.
- They found that these children had a significantly greater risk of developing an addiction, compared to adopted children with no family history of addiction
Explain stress as a risk factor for developing an addiction:
- People who experience stress may turn to drugs as a form of self- medication (e.g. to avoid pain or feel pleasure)
- Stress can include both present and previous experiences.
- Epstein found a strong correlation between childhood rape and alcohol addiction- but only for women diagnosed with PTSD.
- Addiction is not an inevitable response to rape but early stressful events may lead to a vulnerability.
Explain personality as a risk factor for developing an addiction:
- Individual personality traits such as hostility and neuroticism may increase the risk of addiction.
- Although there is no such thing as an ‘addictive personality’.
- Bahlmann interviewed 55 alcohol-dependent people, with 18 of them having APD.
- Found that APD developed on average 4 years before their alcohol dependence. APD is a risk factor for alcohol addiction
Explain family influences as a risk factor for developing an addiction:
- Living in a family which uses addictive substances and/or has positive attitudes about addictions increases a person’s likelihood of developing an addiction
- Livingston et al found that final year high-school students who were allowed to drink alcohol at home were significantly more likely to drink excessively at college.
- This is likely because they have the approval from their parents, and so are more likely to conduct this behaviour.
Explain peers as a risk factor for developing an addiction:
- As children age, peer relationships become the most important risk factor for addiction.
- Even when an adolescent’s peers have not used drugs themselves, their attitudes towards drugs may still be influential.
- O’Connell et al found that there were 3 major elements to peer influence as a risk factor: Attitudes and norms, opportunities, overestimating how much their peers are drinking.
The existence of withdrawl syndrome indicates that a ______ _______ has developed.
Physical dependence
Why do withdrawl symptoms usually encourage the relapse of an addiction?
- The withdrawal symptoms are unpleasant and cause discomfort.
- Motivates individuals to relapse to avoid withdrawal symptoms
Withdrawal typically has two phases: the _____ withdrawl phase, and the ____ withdrawl phase.
Acute
Prolonged
What is the acute withdrawal phase?
- Begins within hours of abstaining from substance/behaviour.
- Features intense cravings for the substance (reflecting a strong physical and psychological dependence)
- Symptoms gradually decrease, usually over days.
What is the prolonged withdrawl phase?
- Symptoms that continue for extended periods of time (e.g. months, years).
- Individuals become highly sensitive to cues they associate with the substance (e.g. rituals, location, items).
- Significantly increases relapse rate.
What are the 3 evaluation points for risk factors:
- Control of genes (S)
- Real world application (S)
- Interaction between factors (L)
- Methodological issues (L)
Explain control of genes (S) as an evaluation point for risk factors:
- Looking at risk factors together means you can identify interactions between genes
- Most factors are an immediate influence on addiction, but how we respond to the stress and to the extent to which we seek thrill are both partly genetic.
- Genetic vulnerability may be the most significant risk factor as it has the ultimate influence on others.
Explain real world application (S) as an evaluation point for risk factors:
- Some researchers believe that focusing on risk factors is an effective way of preventing and treating addictions.
- If we know what the risk factors are then we can identify those at risk and try to work on prevention.
