Addiction - Risk Factors Flashcards
PEER (pressure)
Social learning theory (Bandura)
Social identity theory (Abrams and Hogg)
Smokers befriend other smokers Peer encouragement and approval Popularity SLT - observation and modelling through social contact SIT - adopting the norm within the group
STRESS
everyday and traumatic
Everyday stress - coping with daily hassles. (NIDA)
Traumatic stress - become more vulnerable to addictions if they have experienced parental loss or child abuse or PTSD
Driessen et al - 30% drug addicts and 15% alcoholics also had PTSD
AGE
Influence of peers gets less in later adolescence and romantic relationships become more important on especially health related behaviour (brown et al)
PERSONALITY
neuroticism and psychoticism
Addictive personality explains why some become addicted and others do not.
N & P - Eysenck
Extraversion-introversion - seek stimulation to increase under aroused cortical arousal
Neuroticism - experience negative effect
Psychoticism - hostility and impulsivity
PERSONALITY
Tri-dimensional theory of addictive behaviour
Clongier
Novelty seeking - new experiences
Harm avoidance - worrying and pessimism
Reward dependence - repeating behaviours
Evaluation of STRESS
Do addictions decrease stress?
It actually increases stress levels
Smoking may become stress reducing as once the desire to have any cigarette has been fulfilled the stress levels drop
Evaluation of STRESS - some but not all people
Cloniger - two types of alcoholics
type 1 - drink to reduce tension (more likely female and prone to stress)
Type 2 -drink to reduce boredom (tendency towards risk taking)
Evaluation of PEERS - SLT
Duncan et al - exposure to role models increases likelihood that teenagers will begin smoking
Eiser et al - social status and popularity rewards are key factors in why teens begin smoking and continue to do so
Evaluation of PEERS - SIT
Little is known about the extent to which these groups influence their members to smoke
Evaluation of PERSONALITY - causality
Evidence for personality as a cause
Research is only correlational.
Research in rats found evidence for personality as a cause
Belin et al - rats self administering doses of cocaine
Sensation seekers began with high dose
High in impulsiveness had lower doses but became addicted
Evaluation of PERSONALITY
Impulsivity rather than sensation seeking
Role of dopamine
Weintraub et al - high levels of dopamine lead to impulsivity and thus addiction
Buckholtz et al - certain personality typed people may have a more hypersensitive dopamine response system
Heightened response to an anticipated reward could make such individuals less fearful about the consequences of their behaviour.
Ethical issues in addiction research
Lee - sensitive areas
Threat of sanction - incriminating information
Dug addiction - illegal behaviours revealed
Benefits vs risks
