Biological explanation

• Inherited addiction

  • Research suggests addiction can be inherited
  • Genetic information from parents can make children more or less likely to develop an addiction
  • However, something in the environment needs to activate that addiction
• Aim of Kaij's study

  • To see whether being addicted to alcohol is because of someone's genes
• Method of Kaij's study

  • Male twins from Sweden used
  • At least one twin had experienced problems with alcohol abuse
  • Interviewed twins to collect info about drinking habits
• Results of Kaij's study

  • Among twins who have both experienced alcohol abuse, 61% were identical twins (monozygotic) and 39% were non-identical twins (dizygotic)
• Conclusion of Kaij's study

  • Alcoholism is a result of hereditary factors
• Evaluation of Kaij's study (1)

  • Weakness
  • Doesn't explain all causes of addiction
  • If genes were the only answer, you'd expect 100% of the alcoholic identical twins to have an alcoholic twin.
• Evaluation of Kaij's study (2)

  • Strength
  • Has supporting evidence
  • Another study found that genetic factors had a big influence of alcoholism
  • Supporting research means Kaij's results are reliable
• Evaluation of Kaij's study (3)

  • Weakness
  • Kaij wasn't actually studying alcoholism
  • Twins were contacted because they had been arrested for being drunk
  • Committing an offence when being drunk does not mean you're an alcoholic