Risk Factors In The Development If Addiction Flashcards
Stress
Stressful life experiences can make an individual more vulnerable to develop an addiction or more likely to relapse into addictive behaviour. The self medication model suggests that addictive habits may develop as a self medicated treatment for stress or as a perceived stress relieve. Recent research has investigated the link between stress and addiction. Addiction is associated with raised levels of dopamine and researchers found that high levels of stress also increased the reactivity of dopamine receptors in the VTA of the brain. Showing that stress and addiction may be linked through the dopamine system
Stress A02 Turner et al
Turner et al found that many problems gamblers had endured unpleasant life experiences the year before their addiction started
Stress A02 Wills et al
Wills et al surveyed 1,364 teenagers and found a significant correlation between high life stress and addictive smokers. HOWEVER many people experience life stresses but only a few develop addictions so we cannot say that stress does not cause addiction. Other factors such as peers and personality may be important
Peers
Peer influences have been found to be one of the strongest predictors of drug use during adolescence.
Social learning theory - addictive behaviour is learned through observation of valued role models being rewarded for their smoking (vicarious reinforcement) and subsequent modelling of the behaviour. Young people are most likely to imitate behaviour of those they have to most contact with - their peers.
Social identity theory - assumes that people identify themselves as members of a particular group and increase self esteem by adopting the norms and behaviours of the group to which they belong. In peer groups where status as smoker or non smoker is central to the social identity of the group individuals are likely to seem similar to each other in their smoking habits.
Peers A02 Bricker et al
Bricker et al offered support for the social learning theory. They studied the influence of peers and parents on teenage smoking on 6006 participants from the USA in a longitudinal study between the 10 and 17 years. They found that peer smoking was most influential on forth trying smoking. However they also emphasised the importance of family members and their attitudes and behaviour
Peers AO2 Bauman and Ennett
Bauman and Ennett suggested that the influence of peers is over emphasised. They found that a young person chooses peers who share the same attitudes towards addictive behaviours rather than being influenced by their peers providing support for social identity theory.
Other evidence has suggested that experimenting alone with cigarettes or drugs is a key factor in the development of addictions
Age
There is a positive correlation between the age at which a person first starts a potentially addictive behaviour and the likelihood that they will develop an addiction. Teenagers who start using alcohol, nicotine or other drugs at an early age have a higher risk of developing an addiction later on. It is not clear whether this is due to genetic factors or whether it is a learner behaviour and further research is attempting to identify the exact mechanism involved. Parents also influence a child’s addictive behaviour. Parents drug use has been linked to the age of onset and frequency of alcohol and cannabis use in adolescents. Parents with more permissive attitudes towards drug taking are more likely to have children who start taking drugs at a young age. The same pattern has been found with gambling.
Age A02 Fidler et al
Fidler et al carried out a longitudinal study of 6000 adolescents. Those who had tried a cigarette by the age of eleven were twice as likely to be regular smokers by the age of fourteen. They were also more likely to be heavy smokers when older.
Age A02 Swiss health survey
HOWEVER most of the research focus has been on young people generally addictions in older people have gone unreported. About one third of alcoholics develop their habit during retirement. The Swiss Health Survey found 46% of men over the age of 75 drank daily compared to 6% of 25-34 year olds
Personality
Eysenck has suggested that an individual develops an addictive habit because it fulfils a purpose related to the personality type of the individual
Neuroticism > people high in neuroticism tend to experience negative emotions and are more likely to develop addictions
Psychoticism > people high in psychoticism tend to be aggressive and impulsive and are more likely to develop addictions
Extraversion - introversion > extraverts seek external stimulation to increase their cortical arousal and are more likely to develop addictions
Personality A02 Gossop and Eysenck
Gossop and Eysenck surveyed over 200 polydrug addicts using the Eysenck personality questionnaire. They found a significant association between both neuroticism and psychoticism and addiction. Alcohol heroin and nicotine achieved higher than normal scores in neuroticism and psychoticism
Personality A02 Zuckerman
Zuckerman suggested that people who are highly extavert sensation seekers have a high susceptibility to boredom and seek out novel experiences. This would predispose them to seeking a high from addiction but the evidence is not clear cut
Personality A02 Canals et al
Canals et al gave Spanish adolescents aged 10 to 11 the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire and were followed for the next eight years. When tested aged 18 psychoticism was the best early predictor of dependence on nicotine and alcohol. This supports the idea that personality characteristics pre date addiction rather than addiction altering personality
