introduction to studying addicition

• what is addiction?

  disorder where an individual takes a substance or engages in a behaviour that's pleasurable but eventually becomes compulsive with harmful consequences.
• what is physical dependence?

  state of the body due to habitual substance abuse which results in a withdrawal syndrome when use of the drug is reduced or stopped
• what is psychological dependence?

  compulsion to continue taking a substance because its use is rewarding
• what is tolerance?

  a reduction in response to a substance so that an addicted individual needs more to get the same effect
• what is withdrawal syndrome?

  set of symptoms that develop when an addicted person abstains from or reduces their substance abuse.
• behavioural tolerance?

  happens when an individual learns through experience to adjust their behaviour to compensate for effects of a substance.
• cross-tolerance?

  developing tolerance to one type of substance can reduce sensitivity to another type. classic issue in surgery where people who have developed a tolerance to sleep inducing effects of alcohol needs higher doses of anaesthetic.
• what are risk factors?

  any internal or external influence that increases the likelihood a person will start using addictive substances or engage in addictive behaviours.
• risk factors: genetic vulnerability?

  people don't inherit an addiction itself they inherit a predisposition to dependence. genes may determine the activity of neurotransmitter systems in the brain which in turn affect behaviours such as impulsivity that predispose a person to dependence.
• risk factors: stress?

  people who experience stress may turn to drugs as a form of self medication. stress includes present and past events.
• risk factors: personality?

  individual personality traits such as hostility and neuroticism may increase the risk of addiction
• risk factors: family influences?

  living in a family which uses addictive substances and have positive attitudes about addictions increases a persons likelihood of becoming addicted.
• risk factors: peers?

  as kids get older peer relationships become most important risk factor for addiction outsripping familiy influences. even if peers haven't used drug themselves their attitudes towards drugs are still influential.
• acute withdrawal phase?

  begins within hours of abstaining and features intense cravings for the substance reflecting strong physiological and psychological dependence. symptoms gradually diminish usually over days.
• prolonged withdrawal phase?

  includes symptoms that continue for weeks, months, years. person becomes highly sensitive to the cues they associate with the substance. one reason why relapse is so common.
• limitation of risk factors?

  p- focusing on individual risk factors is that it means we ignore the effect of interactions and also may ignore the positive effects.

  e- mayes and suchman point out that different combinations partly determine the nature and severity of an addiction. factors described as risky can be protective like personality traits, family and peer influences can reduce risk of addiction.

  l- more realistic view of risk is to think in terms of multiple pathways to addiction which include different combinations interacting and some having a positive effect.
• strength of risk factors?

  p- looking at risk factors together points to overriding interaction with genes.

  e- high stress levels directly increase addiction risk as does the personality trait of novelty seeking. but how we respond to stress and the extent to which we seek novelty are both partly genetic.

  e- so to fully understand risk factors we face to look further back in chain of influences to ultimate risk factor which in many cases is genetic.

  l- genetic vulnerability may be most significant risk factor as it has ultimate influence on others.