Risk Factors in the Development of Addiction Flashcards
What’s a Risk Factor?
Anything internal/ external that increases the likelihood of an individual starting to use drugs or engage in addictive behaviour.
Risk Factor: What’s Genetic Vulnerability?
We may inherit a vulnerability that increases the risk of addiction.
Genetic vulnerability can explain why some individuals become dependant and others don’t.
It’s an interaction between genes and environmental factors, individual won’t become addicted unless they’re exposed to the substance.
Why Does Genetic Vulnerability Occur? (D2 Receptor)
Within the brain: number of receptors that communicate with neurotransmitters.
D2 receptor’s responsible for communicating with dopamine, number of D2 receptors an individual has is determined by genetics.
FEWER receptors is associated with addiction as this leads to problems with experiencing pleasure from everyday activities, therefore, turn to addictive substances e.g. nicotine to experience feeling of pleasure.
Why Does Genetic Vulnerability Occur? (Metabolism)
Some individuals metabolise addictive substances faster than others, making it easier for them to become addicted, as they may need more to have the same effect.
An individuals metabolism rate is inherited through their genes.
AO3: Genetic Vulnerability
P: Research to support; Kendler et al.
E: Used data from National Swedish Adoption Study.
E: Looked at at adults who had been adopted as children from families where one person had an addiction. Later these children had a significantly greater chance of developing an addiction themselves, compared to adopted individuals with no addicted parent in their biological families.
L: Increases validity.
Risk Factor: What’s Stress?
Where an individual experiences a physical and psychological state that occurs when they believe they don’t have the ability to cope with the perceived threat.
Periods of chronic, long lasting stress and traumatic life events in childhood have been linked with increased risk of developing addiction.
AO3: Stress Research
P: Research
E: Found early experiences of severe stress have damaging effects on a young brain in a sensitive period of development, can create vulnerability to later stress.
E: Further stressful experiences in later life could trigger the vulnerability and make it more likely a person may self medicate with substances or behavioural addictions.
E: However, addiction may cause an individual to become stressed (through loss of a job, etc), rather than stress causing addiction.
L: Research lacks internal val, can’t conclude that stress makes someone more at risk of addiction.
Risk Factor: Personality
Psychologists have proposed an addictive personality suggesting a correlation between certain traits and addiction.
What Causes Addictive Personality?
It’s suggested that anti-social personality disorder leads to high vulnerability to addiction, including neurotic (high levels of anxiety/ irritability) and psychotic (aggressive/ impulsive) traits.
Individuals with pathological personalities are more likely to become addicts as the behaviour/ substance helps them and offers relief.
AO3: Personality: Research to Support
P: Research
E: Assessed personality of a sample of 221 drug addicts and 310 non-addicts using personality questionnaire.
E: Found evidence of high neuroticism and psychoticism scores in addicted ppts compared to non-addicts.
L: Supports role of neuroticism and psychoticism personality traits as risk factor in addictive behaviour giving validity to risk factor.
Risk Factor: Family Influences
Family members can have an effect on individual’s thoughts, feelings, behaviour over course of development
What’s Perceived Parental Approval?
If an adolescent believes their parents show positive attitudes towards addictive substance/ behaviour, they’re more likely to develop addiction themselves (Livingston el al: drinking).
Adolescents who believe their parents have little interest in monitoring behaviour are significantly more likely to develop addiction.
Exposure within family to substance/ behaviour creates risk of developing an addiction (SLT).
AO3: Family Influences: Research to Support
P: Madras et al.
E: Studied families with adolescents where parents used cannabis.
E: Found strong positive correlation between parents use of cannabis and adolescents use of cannabis.
L: Shows adolescents perceived that parents were accepting of drug use so went on to use drugs themselves.
Risk Factor: What are Peers?
People who share their interests, age, similar backgrounds and social status as the individual.
How can Peers Influence an Individuals Development?
Can influence during adolescence as they spend more time with them and less with their family.
Psychologists argue peers may act as gateway to addictive behaviour.
