risk factors: personality

Question 1

Personality overview

Answer 1

Definition
related to addiction
addiction-prone personality
Addiction and personality disorders

Question 2

Personality definition

Answer 2

Refers to the stable traits of a person that underlie consistencies in the way they behave over time

Question 3

Personality and addiction

Answer 3

Research has shown personality characteristics play an important role in predicting patterns of substance abuse and development of addiction

Kreuger: identified personality traits (eg sensation seeking, impulsivity) that are commonly assoc w addiction

Question 4

Addiction-prone personality

Answer 4

Barnes et al: Developed APP scale to assess influence of personality factors on addictive behaviour
- eg found personality was a signif predictor of heavy mariajuana use

Studies using the APP scale have shown that its effective way of disciminating addicts and non-addicts and predicting severity of addiction and likelihood of remission during recovery

Question 5

Addiction and personality disorders

Answer 5

Research suggests a relationships between addiction and personality disorders such as BPD and anti-social personlity disorder

A review of this research found the overall prevalence of personality disorders was:
44% in alcoholics
70% in coke addicts
79% in opiate addicts
91% in polysubtance users

Question 6

AO3:

Answer 6

str: application
lim: correlational

Question 7

str: application of research

Answer 7

Implications of addiction-prone personality

Empirical evidence supports that there is a relationship between certain
personality characteristics and addictive behaviour

Research has shown that personality is a key predictor in the initiation of substance use, the development of substance abuse and the maintenance of substance dependence.

Thus, by identifying vulnerable individuals in advance (e.g. people most likely to become alcoholics), help could be given to stop their behaviour developing into an addiction.

This could potentially prevent the development of substance disorders, reducing the enormous personal costs to those individuals and the costs to society in treating their addictions.

Question 8

lim: correlational

Answer 8

Correlation vs causation

Although there is evidence that personality traits are correlated with addiction, this does not automatically mean that having those personality traits causes one to be at greater risk of addiction.

It could be that being addicted to drugs changes one’s personality.