Addictive Behaviours - The Characteristics Of The Behaviour Flashcards
What 3 resources are used to identify an addiction
- ICD11
- DSM5-TR
- Mark Griffith (2005) 6 part ‘components model’ of addiction
What is the ICD 11
- A global categorisation system for physical and mental illnesses published by the World Health Organisation (WHO)
- used globally since Jan 2022 (most recently updated)
- recognises 2 types of behavioural addictions (gambling disorder and gaming disorder)
What is the DSM5-TR
- An American categorisation system for only mental illnesses
- Made by the American Psychological Association (APA)
- only recognises one type of behavioural addiction (gambling disorder)
What are the 2 types of adddiction
- substance (chemical) addiction —> addiction to a chemical substance
- Behavioural (non-chemical) addiction —> addiction to a behaviour
What are the characteristics of addictive behaviour used as diagnostic criteria for both DSM5-TR and ICD11
- social problems
- risky use (such as putting yourself in danger)
- impaired control over behaviour
- physical dependence (including cravings, tolerance and withdrawal symptoms)
How many of these characteristics outlined by the DSM-5TR do you have to have in order to be diagnosed with an addiction
- only 2/11 for a substance addiction diagnosis
- only 4/11 for a behavioural addiction diagnosis
What are the 6 components of Griffith model
- Salience
- mood modification
- Tolerance
- withdrawal symptoms
- conflict
- relapse
Describe Salience
The activity becomes the most important thing in their life and dominates their thinking (preoccupations and cognitive distortions), feelings (cravings) and behaviour (deterioration of socialised behaviour)
Give an example for salience
Individuals with a behavioural addiction to gambling might spend spare time thinking about ways to get money to feed their habit
Describe mood modification
- This is when the addict engages in the behaviour/substance they experience a change in their mood which might be a ‘buzz’ or ‘high’ or an escape/numbing feeling.
- Many addicts may also use substances and behaviours as a way of producing a reliable and consistent change in their mood state as a coping strategy to ‘self medicate’ and make themselves feel better.
Give an example for mood modification
For example, a nicotine addict may use cigarettes to get a ‘rush’ in the morning to get going for the day or smoking to destress and relax in the evening.
Describe tolerance
- This refers to when overtime, increasing amounts of the substance/activity are needed in order to achieve the formerr effects because their body has built up a tolerance to it.
- This happens because the brain is overstimulated by the dopamine produced by the addictive substance/activity, it reduces the receptors as a way of balancing dopamine production, meaning that more of the drug is required for the original effects to be felt. (Neuroadaption)
Give an example of tolerance
For example, in a gambling addiction tolerance may involve the gambler gradually having to increase the size of the bet in order to experience a mood modifying effect that used to be obtainable with smaller bets.
Describe withdrawal symptoms
- Once the addictive substance/activity is discontinued or suddenly reduced it can cause unpleasant psychological effects (e.g. extreme moodiness and irritability) as well as physical effects (e.g. nausea, sweats, headaches, insomnia, etc).
Give an example for withdrawal symptoms
An example of this would be that some physical withdrawal symptoms of heroin addiction are increased blood pressure/heart rate/respiration, sweating and nausea. As well as some psychological symptoms such as anxiety and depression.
Describe conflict
- This can manifest itself in both conflict between the addicts and those around them (interpersonal conflict) or from within the individual themselves (intrapsychic conflict).
- may end up compromising personal relationships of working lives
Give an example of conflict
For example, if a gambling addiction began to take all your money, capacity for thought and interfere with their personal life with their family/partner.
Describe relapse
It’s the tendency for repeated reversions to earlier patterns of addictive behaviour, typically reverting back to behaviour similar to that of the height of the addiction that is quickly restored after many years of abstinence.
Give an example of relapse
For example, individuals with a smoking addicting may find themselves reverting back to full-time smoking, despite having maintained abstinence for years.
What are the 4 major stages of addiction
- Initiation
- Maintenance
- Abstinence
- Relapse
Describe the 1st stage of addiction
- initiation
- Where the person takes the drug/behaviour for the first time
Describe the 2nd stage of addiction
- Maintenance
- when a person becomes addicted they move to the maintenance stage where they’re not in control of the decision to take the drug/behaviour but feels a compulsion to take it
Describe the 3rd stage of addiction
- Abstinence
- when an individual refrains from taking the drug (they aren’t ‘cured’ because the addiction is still present because the withdrawal symptoms/craving is still strong)
Describe the 4th stage of addiction
- relapse
- when the individual restarts the drug taking/behaviour. A single instance of taking the drug/behaviour can reinstate the maintenance stage
