Risk factors in addiction - Jenny 16 marker

For a specific 16 marker

Odgen and Fox (1994) study

• Investigated the role of smoking as a method of weight control in teenage girls

• They used questionnaires to assess girls’ smoking behaviour, dieting habits, and body image concerns

• They found that those with higher body dissatisfaction or fear of weight gain were more likely to smoke

• Smoking appeared to be used as a strategy to suppress appetite and maintain a slimmer figure

• This suggests that adolescent smoking is not solely social or rebellious, but can be motivated by psychological factors such as body image

Odgen and Fox (1994) evaluation

Strengths:

• Large sample size of 400 teenage girls so can be generalised

• Highlights a significant health-related risk behaviour which has positive implications for society, such as interventions for teenage girls that help with body image

Limitations:

• Relied on self-report measures which may be biased

• Correlational design so a causation cannot be established

Anderson and Teicher (2008) study

• Highlights the role of adverse childhood experiences in later addiction

• They argue that early experiences of severe stress have damaging effects on a young brain in a sensitive period of development

• This creates a vulnerability to later stress

• Further stressful experiences in adolescence and adulthood trigger the early vulnerability and make it more likely that such a person will self-medicate with drugs or other behavioural addictions

Anderson and Teicher (2008) evaluation

Strengths:

• Research support by Matheny and Weatherman (1998) found that there was a strong relationship between participant’s use of stress coping resources and their ability to maintain abstinence from smoking once they had given up 

Limitations:

• Coping resources do not always work, and people find it difficult to maintain abstinence once stressed

• Not everyone turns to nicotine when stressed so must be other factors at hand

Amos and Bostock (2007) study

• Used single-sex focus groups with 15-year-old smokers to explore gender differences in smoking

• They found girls worried more about appearance and smell, while boys focused on fitness and sports

• More likely for a girl to be influenced by her peers to smoke in order to maintain a socially acceptable appearance 

Amos and Bostock (2007) evaluation

Strengths:

• The study’s qualitative approach provided in-depth insights useful for targeted health interventions in teenage girls - positive implications to society

Limitations:

• Small, local sample limits generalisability

• Bias due to self-report methods

Bricker et al (2006) study

• Conducted a longitudinal study with 4,744 adolescents to examine the influence of peers on smoking

• They found that each smoking close friend increased the chance of trying smoking by 38%, monthly smoking by 10% and daily smoking by 11%

Bricker et al (2006) evaluation

Strengths:

• Large sample size so has good generalisability

• Longitudinal design, improves reliability and shows changes over time

Limitations:

• Self-report bias

• Causality cannot be confirmed due to possible confounding variables