Addiction: Risk Factors in addiction - genetics/stress/personality/family/peers Flashcards
Which three AO3 points could be used for all of the risk factors?
Practical applications
Alternative explanations
Correlational
What is a risk factor in terms of addiction?
An internal or external factor that makes a person more vulnerable to addictive behaviour
What two ways could genetic influence vulnerability?
D2 receptors
Metabolism
D2 is linked to which neurotransmitter?
Dopamine
Genetics could have what effect on D2 receptors?
Fewer D2 receptors
What is the problem with having fewer D2 receptors
A person feels less pleasure from everyday activities so people need to turn to more addictive substances to feel the same effect
What is metabolism?
How fast the body can break down a substance
What did Kendler find about genetic vulnerability?
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.
How is stress linked to addiction?
When a person experiences stress they turn to addictive substances or behaviours as a form of self medication.
In terms of stress what has been linked to increased risk of developing an addiction?
Periods of chronic, long lasting stress
Traumatic childhood life events
What did Anderson and Teicher find out about the effect of stress on the young brain and its impact on addiction.
Stress can damage the young brain
The impact is later stress could trigger the vulnerability and lead to a person self medicating to cope.
What personality disorder is linked to addiction?
Anti-social personality disorder
What are the three ways that family influences can make a person vulnerable to addiction?
Perceived Parental approval
Low parental monitoring
Social Learning Theory
How can Social Learning Theory explain that family is a risk factor for addiction?
Observe and imitate a family behaviour engaging in a addictive behaviour/using a substance
How is monitoring linked to family being a risk factor for addiction?
If parents do not monitor the behaviour of their children. The child is more likely to engage in addiction?
What is meant by perceived parental approval in addiction?
If parents engage in addiction in an addcitive behaviour or substance the child will also hold positive attitudes to the behaviour
Which addictive substance did Madras study in family influence on addiction?
Cannabis
Adolescents spend more time with their peers than family members so peers may act as a
gateway to addiction
State three ways O’Connell found that peers can make a person vulnerable to addiction.
- Peers have positive attitudes to drinking alcohol
- Peers give people more opportunities to engage in addictive behaviours
- People overestimate how much their peers drink
Why are D2 receptors a genetic risk factor?
Because the number of D2 receptors we have are genetically determined
Why is metabolism a genetic risk factor?
Because our metabolic rate is inherited/genetically determined
Who proposed a 3 dimensional personality model of addiction
Clodinger
What traits/features of an anti-social personality disorder are linked to vulnerability to addiction?
Rule breaking
Impulsivity
What are Clodinger proposed 3 innate dimensions associated with addiction?
1) Novelty seeking
2) Inhibited harm avoidance
3) Increased reward dependency
What is meant by the personality dimension “novelty seeking”
Tendency to get intensely excited in response to new stimuli and therefore continuously seek new, more extreme experiences (thrill seekers)
What is meant by the personality dimension “inhibited harm avoidance”
Not experiencing fear and worry about a potentially harmful experience/activity e.g. not fearing consequences of taking a harmful drug
What is meant by the personality dimension “increased reward dependency”
The tendency to respond MORE to reward e.g. social approval.
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
“inhibited harm avoidance”
Which of Clodinger’s 3 personality dimensions is being described below?
The tendency to respond MORE to reward e.g. social approval.
“increased reward dependency”
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)
“novelty seeking”
Which personality dimension did Schneider et al (2015) find was MOST associated with increased involvement with alcohol, cannabis and cocaine?
Novelty seeking
Research has demonstrated a positive correlation between novelty seeking and what aspect of addition?
Relapse rates
Which of Clodinger’s personality dimensions has been found to be positively correlated with relapse rates?
Novelty seeking
What type of correlation has been found between novelty seeking personality and relapse rates?
Positive
Cause and effect can not be established between personality and addiction, why not? Give an example.
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
How might risk factors leading to practical applications have a positive impact on the economy?
Smoking addiction costs the economy £17 bn per year so practical apps will reduce costs to NHS and society.
What did Madras (2019) find that supports family influences as a risk factor for addiction? .
A strong positive correlation between parent’s use of cannabis and the adolescents use of cannabis, nicotine, alcohol and opioids
What does Madras’ study show about family influences as a risk factor for addiction?
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.
What did Kendler et al (2012) find using data from the National Swedish Adoption Study?
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.
Research into genetic factors as a risk factor in addiction is correlational, why is this a problem?
Cause and effect can not be established
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?
Having an addiction might cause someone to have fewer D2 receptors/abnormalities in D2 receptors.
