Factors Affecting Addictive Behaviour Flashcards
Evaluation of risk factors
Most research on younger groups, but Helfer found 17% of Swiss women took painkillers or sleeping pills every day
Risk factors
Stress, peers, age and personality
Everyday stress
NIDA - use addictive substances or behaviours as a way of coping with daily stressors, eg money, workplace, relationship
Traumatic stressors
Cleck and Blendy - the more significant and long term the stressor (child abuse), the more likely it’d cause addiction
Evaluation of stress
Cloniger - 2 types of alcoholics: type 1 drinks to reduce tension and are more prone to anxiety and depression, type 2 drink to relieve boredom
Peers
McAllister et al - transitions to increased levels of smoking linked to peer encouragement and approval and the message that smoking = popularity
Peers: social identity theory
Abrams and Hogg - group members adopt behaviours seen as the social identity of the group
Evaluation of peers
Bullers et al - peer group predicted drinking but individual drinking also predicted subsequent peer group drinking
Age
Brown et al - influence of peers wanes in later adolescence as the role of close friends and partners is increasingly important
Old age
Helfer - 44% of men over 74 drank everyday compared with 6% of 34 year olds
Personality
- Neuroticism and psychoticism
2. Tri-dimensional theory of addictive behaviour
Personality: neuroticism and psychoticism
Francis - link between addiction and high scores on both
Personality: tri-dimensional theory of addictive behaviour
Cloniger - 3 traits that predispose individuals: novelty seeking, harm avoidance (worrying, pessimism) and reward dependence (speed of learning)
Evaluation of personality
Belin et al - impulsive rats started with low doses of self administered cocaine but were the ones to become addicted
Film representations
Sulkunen - 140 scenes from 47 films showed enjoyment of effects contrasted with dullness of ordinary life
