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Risk Factors in the Development of Addiction - Coggle Diagram
Risk Factors in the Development of Addiction
Personality
Various traits can increase an individual's risk of addiction e.g. impulsivity.
Addiction is linked with disordered personality.
Petry et al (2002)
said most people with APD are addicts.
Robins (1998)
argues that this is a causal risk factor because it means people are more likely to break social norms, act impulsively and perform criminal acts.
Several studies show alcohol dependence and APD are co-morbid. 18/55 alcohol addicts were diagnosed with APD 4 years before their addiction began.
Peers
The attitudes of peers towards addictive substances/behaviours becomes highly influential in increasing the risk of an addiction developing in adolescence.
Mary O'Connell et al (2009)
suggests norms about drinking are influenced by associating with peers who use alcohol, experienced peers provide more opportunities for alcohol use, the individual overestimates ow much their peers are drinking so they drink more to keep up the perceived norm.
Real world application -
Social Norms Market Advertising (SNMA)
is an intervention to change mistaken beliefs about how much peers are drinking. Uses mass media advertising to provide messages and stats about how much people really drink. Students get a more accurate picture of their overestimations.
Family Influences
How much the at-risk individual believes his/her parents approve of addictive substances or behaviours is an influential risk factor - perceived parental approval (PPA).
Livingston et al (2010)
found that final year high school students who wear allowed to drink by their parents at home were more likely to drink excessively at college.
Adolescents who believe their parents have no interest in monitoring their behaviour are more likely to develop an addiction.
Madras et al (2019)
found a strong positive correlation between parents' use of cannabis and the adolescents' use of substances. This may be because the children model the behaviour they have seen in the parent.
Stress
Stressful life events and traumatic experiences in childhood and adulthood are important risk factors for addiction.
Andersen and Teicher (2008)
highlight the role of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in later addiction. They argue that early experiences of severe stress have damaging effects on a young brain in a sensitive development period.
Further stressful experiences in later life can trigger the early vulnerability and make it more likely that the person will self-medicate with drugs or other addictions.
Many studies uses correlations meaning that it's not clear whether stress is the actual risk factor. Some people may become addicted without experiencing any stress in their life.
Genetic Vulnerability
Any inherited predisposition that increases the risk of a disorder or condition.
The D2 receptor
: dopamine transmission is affected by the number of dopamine receptors present. People who are addicted have been found to have a low number of dopamine receptors - therefore drugs is a way of compensating for less dopamine activity.
Nicotine enzyme (CYP2A6)
: some people are more able to metabolise certain substances.
Pianezza et al (1998)
found some people lack a fully functioning enzyme which metabolises nicotine, the smoke significantly less than smokers who do have a functioning enzyme.
Kendler et al (2012)
used data from adoption studies. They looked at adults who had been adopted as children from biological families where a parent was an addict. These children were more at risk of developing an addiction than adopted children who did not come from addict families.