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.
Explain interaction between factors (L) as an evaluation point for risk factors:
- Having individual risk factors means that we ignore the effect of interactions and the positive effect that some may have.
- Combinations of risk factors matter more than individual factors.
- Multiple risk factors can cause an increased likelihood of developing an addiction e.g. a genetic predisposition to nicotine alongside parents who smoke.
-However can also decrease the likelihood of developing an addiction e.g. greater parental monitoring and lower levels of impulsivity.
Explain methodological issues (L) as an evaluation point for risk factors:
- Correlation does not imply causation
- Many of the studies in this area find a correlation between risk factors and addiction e.g. extreme stress and addiction are found to be strongly correlated.
- However does not mean that risk factors cause addiction.
What are the two main mechanisms that create a genetic vulnerability to addiction?
- Number of dopamine (D2) receptors
- Ability of nicotine enzymes (CYP2A6)
Explain how an individual’s number of D2 receptors can increase their genetic vulnerability to addiction?
- The number of D2 receptors we have is genetically controlled.
- People that have addictions have been found to have an abnormally low number of D2 receptors.
- Fewer receptors means less dopamine activity, so using drugs is a way to compensate for this deficiency.
Explain how an individual’s ability of nicotine enzymes can increase their genetic vulnerability to addiction
- Some individuals are more able to metabolise certain substances and this is linked to addiction.
- Pianezza et al found that some people lack a fully functioning enzyme (CYP2A6) which metabolises nicotine.
- They also smoke significantly less than smokers with the fully functioning version.
Abnormally functioning CYP2A6 enzymes mean an individual is ____ likely to become addicted to nicotine.
Less
