Week 7 - Theories Flashcards
Describe behavioural conditioning and how this might relate to drug use.
Behavioural conditioning relates to when the environment we are in may trigger certain responses or behaviours, and may result in substance use.
Classical conditioning = our physiological responses to stimulus triggers behaviour
Operant conditioning = reinforcing behaviour through rewards and punishments. 3 conditions:
positive reinforcement: adding something to induce behaviour (pleasurable sensation)
negative reinforcement: removing aversive experience. I.e. using drugs to avoid un-pleasurable experience such as stress.
Punishment = least effective to cause change
Drug use Q: are people using for positive or negative reinforcement?
Modelling = how others use around us also may relate to a more pleasurable experience with drugs.
What is the tension reduction theory?
There is tension in society –> we demand relief, and therefore want to reduce tension by:
- finding a mode for relief of tension
OR - elimination of reduction of conditions that create tension
What encompasses the ABC treatment mode approach?
A) Antecedents = triggers/ situations/ thoughts that may cause behaviour
B) Behaviours = person does something. In this treatment model, what alternate behaviour can we encourage as a response to these triggers to replace this behaviour, which will ultimately change the consequences/ outcomes for this individual?
C) Consequence = pay offs or negative reinforcement.
What does the cognitive & behaviour intervention approach target?
Cognitive models focus on our thought patterns and beliefs, which lead to our behaviours. Thus, when people have different thoughts, this will lead to different behaviours.
Therapies are subsequently values based, and challenge these cognitions.
What is the Transtheoretical model?
A 7 stage process to behaviour change, whereby an individual can relapse at any point.
- Precontemplation
- Contemplation
- Preparation
- Action
- Maintenance.
- Relapse
Therefore, we need to use appropriate strategies for individuals that might be at different stages.
What does the Family and Systems (sociocultural) approach target/ focus on?
This model of approach focusses on the broader system and individual lies and how these relationships/interactions directly impact the individual and their behaviours.
For example, social determinants such as inequity and lower SES individuals are more likely to experience substance use due to a number of reasons.
Additionally, family systems and interpersonal relationships within families may lead to an adolescent being more likely or exposed to substance use and its long term effects (e.g. parents who normalise drinking, traumatic childhood, family breakdowns/ conflict).
How does the disease model view drug use?
The disease model views the origins of addiction lie within the individual, and it is an illness within the person. It also believes that addiction does NOT lie on a continuum (you either have it or you don’t).
Assumes addicted people cannot control their intake & the disease of addiction cannot be cured (is irreversible).
Readings: drug use is a symptom of mental or physical disease. Dependence is caused by abnormality that precedes the use of the drug - biochemical abnormality that causes ‘addiction’, increasing susceptibility to drug use. A person is ‘born’ as a drug user.
How does the psychodynamic model view drug use?
Substance use is related to problems within our childhood; i.e. we abuse substances due to unresolved conflict in our childhoods. Our ability to cope (or not cope) is related to childhood and whether we progressed through the specific stages of gaining these skills to cope. Unconscious response to some of the difficulties individuals experienced.
EXAMPLE: unconscious responses driven by the ID, ego & superego - individuals seen as fixed at the oral stage, ID drive reduction theory (we experience tension and therefore experience a drive to reduce this tension), ego (self-medication).
READING: drug addiction described as oral fixation, that was a result of a defective relationship between mother and child during the ORAL phase. Manifests as lack of self control, dependence on others, self-destructive impulses, tendency to use mouth as primary source of gratification.
What are the 4 attachment styles? (Bowlby)
1) Secure = the child is attached to their caregiver and happy being with them, but are secure enough to explore the world on their own, and test their limits of independence.
2) Ambivalent-avoidant insecure = love and affection are inconsistent by caregiver (needs are only sometimes met). Adults would rather not rely on others, or have others rely on them.
3) Anxious-avoidant insecure = child’s caregiver is emotionally unavailable and unresponsive to their needs –> ends up afraid of intimacy and commitment, they also distrust and lash out emotionally.
4) Disorganise-insecure = everything is unexpected. A child’s needs are completely dismissed due to a parent’s repeated failure to their child in times of fear and distress. Adults have strong desire for connections however their walls are completely up to other people.
These all result in our internal working models as adults – how we view the world, our relationships with others, expectations about ourselves and others.
What are personality predictors of drug use?
- Impulsivity (lowered inhibition)
- Emotional negativity (negative mood, depressive personality disorder)
- ## Narcissism (frequently disregard others feelings and those around them, completely self-involved)
Describe the psychodynamic view of addiction as a self-regulation disorder.
Addictions relates to our inability to recognise and regulate our feelings, to establish and maintain a coherent and comfortable sense of self. Inability to regulate behaviour, and self care.
How might genetics be related to substance use/ addiction?
This theory focusses on genetic variants/ characteristics, reward systems and neuro-adaptation which may increase vulnerability to substance use and addiction.
People may develop increased likelihood of addiction to substances to do with genetic factors. This might involve:
- multiple genes or INCOMPLETE expression of several MAJOR genes
- evidence suggests a relationship between dopamine regulation in individuals and tobacco smoking.
- brains cannabinoid system (CNR1) found that variants of CNR1 gene were associated with cannabis, cocain and heroin dependence.
What are cannaboid receptors (CNR1)?
Cannabanoid receptors are part of the endocannabinoid system, which is involved in a variety of physiological processes such as:
appetite, pain-sensation, mood & memory.
CNR1 are responsible for the aspects of neuronal activity & account for the behavioural effects caused by THC.
What are the two reward systems implicated by drugs?
- The dopamine reward system
2. Endogenous opioid system
What is the nucleus accumbens?
Considered part of the basal ganglia. It is considered the neural interface between motivation and action. It is a major component of the brain’s reward circuit.
Dopamine levels in the nucleus accumbens rise in response to both rewarding and aversive stimuli.
