risk factors of addiction

genetics - Slutske

• interviewed 3,000 pairs of twins

• wanted to investigate the role of genetic and environmental factors in the development of a gambling addiction

• monozygotic twins (genetically identical) had a higher rate of both twins being pathological gamblers than dizygotic twins

genetics - Vink et al

• 1,500 pairs of twins

• the likelihood of becoming addicted to nicotine was influenced primarily by genetics factors

genetics - Blum and Payne

• individuals who are vulnerable to drug addicts suffer from abnormally low levels of the neurotransmitters dopamine

• this means that anything that increases the amount of dopamine can produce strong feelings of euphoria

personality - Kruger et al

• identified a number of personality traits that are commonly associated with addiction e.g. sensation seeking, impulsivity

personality - addiction-prone personality

• Barnes et al

• developed the addiction-prone personality scale - assessed the influence of personality disorder

• found that personality was a significant predictor of “heavy” marijuana use

personality - addiction and personality disorders

• there is a strong relationship between addiction and personality disorders e.g. anti-personality disorder

• prevalence of personality disorders - 44% in alcoholics, 70% in cocaine addicts, and 79% in opiate addicts

family influence - psychologist and what did he say

Bandura - behaviours are learned through observation of people with which a person has the most contact with

family influence - parental influences

• parents act as role models for their offsprings e.g. adolescents with substance abusing parents are more likely to abuse themselves

• parents also influence their children through their parenting style

  • parental control - how much a parent intervenes in their child’s life

  • parental warmth - how much positive affection a parent shows for their child

  • authoritative parents show warmth but also exert appropriate control = lowered levels of substance abuse

peers - social identity theory

• suggests that a significant part of an individual’s self-concept is formed as a result of the groups of which they are part of

• as it is essential to be associated with the group in order to be socially accepted, this makes the individuals more likely to adopt their behaviou

peers - social networks

• among adolescents, smokers tend to befriend smokers, and non-smokers tend to befriend other non-smokers

• therefore, social networks often consist of individuals with similar habits

Latkin et al

• found that probability of drug abuse was related to the number of members within an individual’s social network who used drugs

• by modelling behaviour such as alcohol use, members of social networks represent such behaviours as a positive and socially acceptable experience

stress

• people deal with stressful events in their life by engaging in behaviours that make them feel better, or to not think about their stressor

stress - self-medication

• some individuals intentionally use different forms of pathological behaviour e.g. alcohol, drugs etc to treat the psychological symptoms they experience because of stress

• research shows that stress is one of the biggest predictors of relapse

• although engaging in such behaviours may not make things better, the perception that it does is instrumental in that behaviour becoming an addiction

stress - traumatic stress

• people exposed to severe stress are more vulnerable to addictions

• Robins et al

  • interviewed US soldiers within a year of their return from the Vietnam war

  • f those, almost half of them either used opium or heroin during their tour of duty

  • around 20% say they developed a dependence for heroin at some point during their time in Vietnam