Risk factors in development of addiction Flashcards
Genetic vulnerability
Risk factors
Inherit predisposition to dependence
Genes may determine activity of neurotransmitter systems in brain, which affect behaviours like impulsivity that predispose a person to dependence
Genetic vulnerability - D2 receptor
Risk factors
DA transmission is affected by number of DA receptors & this number is genetically controlled
People who are addicted have abnormally low number of D2 receptors
Fewer receptors means less DA activity, so usin drugs is a way of compensating for this deficiency
Genetic vulnerability - Nicotine enzyme (CYP2A6)
Risk factors
Some individuals are more able to metabolise certain substances & this is linked to adduction
Pianezza et al found that some people lack fully functioning enzyme (CYP2A6) which metabolises nicotine
They also smoke sigly less than smokers w/ fully functioning version
Expression of enzyme is genetically determined
Genetic vulnerability - Evaluation
Risk factors
Strength - support form adoption studies
Kendler et al used data from National Swedish Adoption Study
Looked at adults who had been adopted away as kids whose bio parents had addictions
These children had sigly greater risk of developing an addiction themselves, compared to adopted kids with no addicted bio parents
There4, supports role of genetic vulnerability as important risk factor (also support by twin studies)
Stress
Risk factors
People who experience stress may turn to drugs as form of self-med
Andersen & Teicher highlight role of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in later addiction
Argue eraly experiences of stress having damaging effects on young brain in sensitive period of development
Further stress in adolesence & adulthood can trigger early vulnerability & make it more likely that such person will self-med with drugs
Stress - Evaluation
Risk factors
Limit - issue of causation
Studies have shown strong + correlation between stress & addiction
However, some people become addicted w/o stressful experiences
Their addiction can create stress in the lives
Still prodcues + correlation but the addiction caused the stress
There4, cannot conclude stress is sig risk factor based on correlational studies alone
Personality
Risk factors
Individual personality traits such as hostility & neuroticism may increase risk of addiction
Most people w/ APD are also addicted substance users
Robins argues that APD is a causal risk factor for addiction because having ADP means that a person breaks social norms, is impulsive & may behave crimincally
There4, almost inevitable that some1 w/ APD will try drugs at young age
Personality - Evaluation
Risk factors
Strength - support for link between addiction & APD
Several studies show that APD & alcohol dependence are co-morbid
Bahlmann et al interviewed 55 alcohol dependent people (18 were diagnosed w/ APD)
For these 18 ppts, they found that APD developed 4 years before alcohol dependency
There4, finding suggests that APD is a personality-related risk factor for alcohol addiction
Family influences
Risk factors
Living in family which uses addictive substances or has + attitudes about addictions increases likelihood of becoming addicted
Livingstone at al found that high-school kids who were allowed to drink alochol were sigly more likely to drink excessively at college
Adolescents who believe their parents have little interest in monitoring their behaviour are more likely to develop an addiction
Family influences - Evaluation
Risk factors
Strength - research support
Madras et al found strong + correlation between parents use of cannbis and their adolescent child’s use of cannabis, nicotine, alcohol & opiods
May be that adolescents oberseve their parents using specific drug and model this behaviour
There4, supports view that parental substance abuse is potential risk factor for wider addiction in adolescent offspring
Peers
Risk factors
As children get older, peer relationships become most important risk factor for addiction
O’Connell et al suggest there are 3 major elements to peer influence:
- At risk adolescent’s attitudes & norms about drinking are influenced by associating w/ peers who use alcohol
- These experienced peers provide more opportunities for at-risk individual to use alcohol
- The individual oervestimates how much their peers are drinking, which means they drink more to “keep up”
Peers - Evaluation
Strength - real world application
Social norms marketing advertising is an intervention to change mistaken beliefs about how mcuh peers are drinking
Uses mass media advertising to provide messages & stats about how much people really drink
Young people can get more accurate picture to correct overestimations
There4, indentification of risk factors can suggest ways to reduce influence of such factors
