Risk factors in the development of addiction Flashcards
what are the five risk factors in the development of addiction
genetic vulnerability
stress
personality
family influences
peers
how does genetics play a role in addiction
by predisposing individuals to become addicted to some substances
what is key to the genetic vulnerability risk factor
there has to be a gene environment interaction - person needs to be exposed to the drug otherwise they won’t become addicted
what affects the likelihood of becoming addicted
the way your body responds to a drug - genetics
if someone is more able to metabolise substances what does this mean about addiction
they are less likely to experience the negative effects of those substances making them more likely to take it again = addiction
what study can support genetic vulnerabilities
Michael Pianezza - people lacking a fully functioning enzyme responsible for metabolising nicotine smoke less
what gene makes us more susceptible to the positive effects of a drug
the dopamine receptor gene
who studied the dopamine receptor gene
Blum and Payne
what did Blum and Payne find
individuals vulnerable to drug addiction have low levels of dopamine meaning anytime the amount of dopamine increases, they have strong feelings of euphoria
how is stress a risk factor in the development of addiction
people can turn to drug to temporarily release stress - coping mechanism
how do mediating factors impact stress as a risk factor for addiction
factors like social support means it may not be the level of stress but the ability to cope with it that predisposes someone to addiction
who created the self medication model
Gelkopf
what does the self medication model say about addiction
proposes that some individuals intentionally use different forms of pathological behaviour (eg drugs) to treat the psychological symptoms they experience in everyday stressors
what did Dawes find
stress is one of the strongest predictors of relapse
what did Sinha et al find
stress is one of the strongest predictors of increased drug cravings
what type of stress further increases the chances of developing an addiciton
severe stress eg post traumatic stress
who did Kessler et al study
men and women with PTSD
what did Kessler et al find about men
for men with a history of PTSD 34% reported drug dependence
what did Kessler et al find about women
for women with a history of PTSD 27% reported drug dependence vs 8% without PTSD
what approach is the family influences risk factor based on
social learning theory
explain how people learn about addiction through social learning theory
addiction knowledge and behaviour demonstrated by family is passed on through daily routines
how does social learning theory explain addiction in terms of family influences
if we see our role models get rewarded for their behaviour - this vicarious reinforcement will increase the liklihood of us imitating the behaviour
give an example of social learning theory explaining smoking addicition
child sees parent feel more relaxed after smoking - child tries it to get the same result - repeated exposure = addiction
from social learning theory what bit of the addicition is the imitated behaviour
the DESIRE to try the substance
what do expectancies form
schemas
what are expectancies
learned consequences for behaviour
give a negative expectancy example for alcohol consumption
if we drink alcohol we get ill - becuase we watched our brother be ill from it
what do we learn expectancies from
the environment
give an positive expectancy examples for smoking
if we smoke cigarettes we look cool - because we saw a rock star doing it
what part of family influence can create the biggest vulnerability to addiction
perceived parental approval
what is perceived parental approval
the extent to which an adolescent believes that his/her parents have POSITIVE attitudes towards addicitve behaviours (drugs/gambling)
who did a study on percieved parental approval and drinking
Livingston
what did Livingston find
high school students whose parents let them drink were more likely to drink excessively at college
why does percieved parental approve influence behaviours
adolescents believe their parents have no or little interest in monitoring their behaviour
of the family unit, which individual has the biggest influence on behaviour
older siblings
why do siblings have a bigger influence than parents
although both act as role models, identification is higher with siblings
at what point in life does peer influence have a bigger effect than family influence
older children and beyond
who proposed the three major elements to peer influence in alcohol addiction
Mary O’Connell
what were the three elemennts O’Connell suggested influence alcohol addiction
1 - associating with peers who use alcohol
2 - peers providing the opportunity to consume alcohol
3 - overestimating and keeping up with the percieved norm
what attitudes of the peers influence drug use (3)
- a culture of rule breaking
- continued drug use
- one instance of drug use
what is peer pressure
the direct or indirect encouragement from one’s own age group to engage in activities we may or may not want to engage in
what is the social identity theory
it is essential to be part of the ‘ingroup’ to be socially accepted, so people are more likely to adopt their behaviours
what is the problem with the perceived norm
it rarelly acts as an accurate perception of reality
what is the perceived norm in reference to addiction
perceived that more alcohol/drug/cigarettes are used than in reality (an overestimation)
what is the impact of the perceived norm on an individual
engage in higher usage of the drug/alcohol to feel like they are catching up with their peers
what did Cloninger suggest
there are three key traits that make up an addictive personality
what did Cloninger create
the tri-dimensional theory
what are the three traits of Cloninger’s theory
- novelty seeking
- harm avoidance
- reward dependence
what did Cloninger mean by novelty seeking
the need for change and stimulation - seeking new experiences to overcome boredom
what did Cloninger mean by harm avoidance
the amount a person worries and see the negative sides of situations
what did Cloninger mean by reward dependence
when someone reacts and learns from a rewarding situation quickly
how does novelty seeking influence the development of addiction
if have high novelty seeking, more likely to seek new sensations from drugs
how does harm avoidance influence the development of addiction
if low in it, people are less worried about the harm from drugs and more likely to use them
how does reward dependence influence the development of addiction
if highly reward dependent, prediposed to addiction because effects are felt quickly and easily
are personality disorders common amougnst addicts
yes
what personality disorder in particular is common amoungst addicts
anti-social personality disorder (APD)
how prevalent are personality disorders in alcoholics
44%
how prevalent are personality disorders in cocaine addicts
70%
how prevalent are personality disorders in opiate addicts
79%
who studied the prevalence of personality disorders in addicts
Verhheul
