Describing Addiction Flashcards
What is physical dependence and psychological dependence ?
physical dependence - when someone is addicted to a substance abstains from it and experiences withdrawal syndrome
psychological dependence - the compulsion to experience the effects of the substance - increased pleasure and less discomfort -
the consequence of psychological dependence is a person will keep taking the substance and it becomes a habit despite the harmful consequences
what is tolerance ?
tolerance occurs when one’s response to a given amount of substance is reduced and so they need a greater dose to produce the same effect
what is behavioural tolerance?
when one learns through experience to adjust their behaviour to compensate for the effects of the substance
e.g. people addicted to alcohol learn to walk slower so they don’t fall when drunk
what is cross tolerance?
developing a tolerance to one type of substance can reduce sensitivity to another type of substance
- classic issue with surgery, people who have developed a tolerance to sleep inducing effects of alcohol need higher levels of anaesthetic
- cross tolerance can be used therapeutically by giving benzodiazepines to people withdrawing from alcohol to reduce withdrawal symptoms
what is withdrawal syndrome?
a collection of symptoms associated with abstaining from an addictive substance/ reducing the use
- symptoms are normally the opposite of the ones created by the substance
what does withdrawal indicate?
that a physical dependence has developed - and this is when they experience withdrawal when they don’t have the substance
- this happens often - they become familiar with unpleasant and discomfort - which increases the motivation for taking the substance - to avoid withdrawal symptoms
- this is a secondary form of psychological dependence
explain phase one of the withdrawal phase?
acute withdrawal phase :
- begins within hours of abstaining - including intense cravings and reflects strong psychological and physical dependence
- symptoms gradually go over a period of days
phase two of the withdrawal phase?
prolonged withdrawal - symptoms continue for weeks, months, years.
one can be highly sensitive to cues they associated with the substance
(rituals, lighters, location etc)
- this is a reason as to why relapse rates are so common
what is a risk factor?
anything that increases the chances the someone will forms an addiction - can also explain a person’s increase of a current use
risk factors - genetic vulnerability?
people inherit a predisposition (vulnerability) to dependence.
Genes may determine the activity of the neurotransmitter systems in the brain - may affect behaviours such as impulsivity that predispose a person to dependence
stress RF?
stressed people may turn to drugs to self - medicate - the stress can include present or past events (trauma)
Personality RF
personality traits such as hostility and neuroticism may increase the risk of addiction
Peers RF
even if an adolescent does not use drugs, their attitude towards drugs may still be influential
LIMITATION: of risk factors
A limitation of focusing on individual risk factors is that it ignores the effect of interactions and how they can have positive effects
Mayes and Suchman - they pointed out that a different combinations of risk factors partly determines nature/ severity of addiction
- and factors describes as risky (personality, peers, family influence) can reduce the risk of addiction
STRENGTH
a strength of looking at risk factors together is that they point out the over riding interaction with genes
most risk factors are proximate ( they immediately influence the addiction) e.g. high levels of stress
- Rey said that how we respond to stress is partly genetic
so genetic vulnerability may be the most significant risk factor as it has the ultimate influence on others
