Addiction: Risk Factors in addiction - genetics/stress/personality/family/peers

Question 1

Which three AO3 points could be used for all of the risk factors?

Answer 1

Practical applications
Alternative explanations
Correlational

Question 2

What is a risk factor in terms of addiction?

Answer 2

An internal or external factor that makes a person more vulnerable to addictive behaviour

Question 3

What two ways could genetic influence vulnerability?

Answer 3

D2 receptors
Metabolism

Question 4

D2 is linked to which neurotransmitter?

Answer 4

Dopamine

Question 5

Genetics could have what effect on D2 receptors?

Answer 5

Fewer D2 receptors

Question 6

What is the problem with having fewer D2 receptors

Answer 6

A person feels less pleasure from everyday activities so people need to turn to more addictive substances to feel the same effect

Question 7

What is metabolism?

Answer 7

How fast the body can break down a substance

Question 8

What did Kendler find about genetic vulnerability?

Answer 8

Those individuals with a biological parent with an addiction are more likely to have an addiction themselves, even though they were raised by adoptive parents.

Question 9

How is stress linked to addiction?

Answer 9

When a person experiences stress they turn to addictive substances or behaviours as a form of self medication.

Question 10

In terms of stress what has been linked to increased risk of developing an addiction?

Answer 10

Periods of chronic, long lasting stress
Traumatic childhood life events

Question 11

What did Anderson and Teicher find out about the effect of stress on the young brain and its impact on addiction.

Answer 11

Stress can damage the young brain
The impact is later stress could trigger the vulnerability and lead to a person self medicating to cope.

Question 12

What personality disorder is linked to addiction?

Answer 12

Anti-social personality disorder

Question 13

What are the three ways that family influences can make a person vulnerable to addiction?

Answer 13

Perceived Parental approval
Low parental monitoring
Social Learning Theory

Question 14

How can Social Learning Theory explain that family is a risk factor for addiction?

Answer 14

Observe and imitate a family behaviour engaging in a addictive behaviour/using a substance

Question 15

How is monitoring linked to family being a risk factor for addiction?

Answer 15

If parents do not monitor the behaviour of their children. The child is more likely to engage in addiction?

Question 16

What is meant by perceived parental approval in addiction?

Answer 16

If parents engage in addiction in an addcitive behaviour or substance the child will also hold positive attitudes to the behaviour

Question 17

Which addictive substance did Madras study in family influence on addiction?

Answer 17

Cannabis

Question 18

Adolescents spend more time with their peers than family members so peers may act as a

Answer 18

gateway to addiction

Question 19

State three ways O’Connell found that peers can make a person vulnerable to addiction.

Answer 19

1. Peers have positive attitudes to drinking alcohol
2. Peers give people more opportunities to engage in addictive behaviours
3. People overestimate how much their peers drink

Question 20

Why are D2 receptors a genetic risk factor?

Answer 20

Because the number of D2 receptors we have are genetically determined

Question 21

Why is metabolism a genetic risk factor?

Answer 21

Because our metabolic rate is inherited/genetically determined

Question 22

Who proposed a 3 dimensional personality model of addiction

Answer 22

Clodinger

Question 23

What traits/features of an anti-social personality disorder are linked to vulnerability to addiction?

Answer 23

Rule breaking
Impulsivity

Question 24

What are Clodinger proposed 3 innate dimensions associated with addiction?

Answer 24

1) Novelty seeking
2) Inhibited harm avoidance
3) Increased reward dependency

Question 25

What is meant by the personality dimension “novelty seeking”

Answer 25

Tendency to get intensely excited in response to new stimuli and therefore continuously seek new, more extreme experiences (thrill seekers)

Question 26

What is meant by the personality dimension “inhibited harm avoidance”

Answer 26

Not experiencing fear and worry about a potentially harmful experience/activity e.g. not fearing consequences of taking a harmful drug

Question 27

What is meant by the personality dimension “increased reward dependency”

Answer 27

The tendency to respond MORE to reward e.g. social approval.

Question 28

Which of Clodinger’s 3 personality dimensions is being described below?

Not experiencing fear and worry about a potentially harmful experience/activity e.g. not fearing consequences of taking a harmful drug

Answer 28

“inhibited harm avoidance”

Question 29

Which of Clodinger’s 3 personality dimensions is being described below?

The tendency to respond MORE to reward e.g. social approval.

Answer 29

“increased reward dependency”

Question 30

Which of Clodinger’s 3 personality dimensions is being described below?

Tendency to get intensely excited in response to new stimuli and therefore continuously seek new, more extreme experiences (thrill seekers)

Answer 30

“novelty seeking”

Question 31

Which personality dimension did Schneider et al (2015) find was MOST associated with increased involvement with alcohol, cannabis and cocaine?

Answer 31

Novelty seeking

Question 32

Research has demonstrated a positive correlation between novelty seeking and what aspect of addition?

Answer 32

Relapse rates

Question 33

Which of Clodinger’s personality dimensions has been found to be positively correlated with relapse rates?

Answer 33

Novelty seeking

Question 34

What type of correlation has been found between novelty seeking personality and relapse rates?

Answer 34

Positive

Question 35

Cause and effect can not be established between personality and addiction, why not? Give an example.

Answer 35

The research is correlational
Having an addiction might make someone less harm avoidant or more novelty seeking rather than it causing addiction in the first place

Question 36

How might risk factors leading to practical applications have a positive impact on the economy?

Answer 36

Smoking addiction costs the economy £17 bn per year so practical apps will reduce costs to NHS and society.

Question 37

What did Madras (2019) find that supports family influences as a risk factor for addiction? .

Answer 37

A strong positive correlation between parent’s use of cannabis and the adolescents use of cannabis, nicotine, alcohol and opioids

Question 38

What does Madras’ study show about family influences as a risk factor for addiction?

Answer 38

Parent’s use of cannabis was positively correlated with the adolescents use of cannabis, nicotine, alcohol and opioids.

The adolescents may have perceived that the parents were accepting of drug use so went on to use drugs themselves.

Question 39

What did Kendler et al (2012) find using data from the National Swedish Adoption Study?

Answer 39

Adopted children from biological families in which at least one person had an addiction had a significantly greater risk of developing an addiction compared to adopted individuals with no addicted parent in their biological families.

Question 40

Research into genetic factors as a risk factor in addiction is correlational, why is this a problem?

Answer 40

Cause and effect can not be established

Question 41

Research into D2 receptors as a genetic factor in addiction is correlational. So…. it can’t be concluded that genetics does lead to addiction. How might someone with addiction have fewer D2 receptors but this not be genetic?

Answer 41

Having an addiction might cause someone to have fewer D2 receptors/abnormalities in D2 receptors.