Risk factors

• What are the risk factors for addiction?

  • Family influences
  • Stress
  • Personality
  • Genetics
  • Peers
• What did Agravel and Lynskey (2008) find?

  Investigated concordance rate for drug addiction between MZ twins

  Found concordance rate is not 100%
• What did Kendler find about adopted children and addiction?


  Adopted children with parents with addictions had greater risk of developing addiction (8.6%) compared to those with no history of addiction (4.2%)
• What gene is linked to alcoholism according to Noble?

  DRD2
• How many alcoholics had the DRD2 gene?

  2/3 (compared to 1/5 of non-alcoholics)
• What is the diathesis stress model?


  For any disorder you need generic vulnerability and a trigger from the environment
• What does a biological explanation for addiction not explain?


  Why we start in the first place
• How do peers influence drug addiction?

  Peers introduce the behaviour and then provide the drug, pressure and shape any attitudes towards it
• What theory did Abraham’s and Hogg come up with?

  Social identity theory
• What is social identity theory?


  The idea that someone’s self-concept is formed due to their ingroup

  To be socially accepted, the individual adopts the addictive behaviour
• What is a social network?


  Who the individual is connected with and who they interact with
• Who found probability of drug use increases if someone’s social network uses?

  Latkin
• What did Litt and Stock find?


  Teenagers who saw their peers drinking on Facebook were more likely to drink themselves
• What did the Finnish longitudinal study find?


  Individuals overestimate how much their peers drink, so they drink more to ‘keep up’. To solve this we can show the actual statistics to show them that this isn’t normal
• Who says smoking is a consequence of friendship selection?

  De Vries et al
• How does the family influence addiction?

  We learn the behaviour from our models
• What did Livingstone find about family influence?


  Perceived parental approval is the strongest risk factor (If the child thinks their parents approve of drink)

  Anyone who could drink at home in high school were more likely to drink at university
• How does exposure affect addiction In adolescents?


  Adolescents are more likely to drink if it is an every day feature in family life
• What influence do siblings have?

  Feinberg (2012) - Older siblings are more likely to be anti-social than younger siblings so are the main influence
• How do addictions develop from daily stress?


  People smoke or drink to cope with daily hassles

  This may contribute to initiation, continuation and relapse
• Who said one of the best predictors of relapse is stress?


  Dawes (2000)
• What affect does traumatic stress have to additction?

  Makes someone more vulnerable

  Drissen et al (2008) - 30% of drug addicts and 15% of alcoholics suffered from PTSD
• Do addictions really decrease stress?

  Hajek (2010) - the withdrawal is stressful, so the cigarette reduces the stress of withdrawal
• How do individual differences affect addiction?


  Stress may create vulnerability in some but not all people
• How does personality increase vulnerability to addiction?


  Krueger - two types of people:

  • impulsive (acting without thinking)
  • sensation seeking (thrill-seeking)
• Who found personality is a predictor of heavy weed use?


  Barnes (2005)
• What personality disorder is linked to addiction?

  Antisocial personality disorder
• What is the prevalence of personality disorders in different addictions?

  Alcoholics - 44%

  Cocaine - 70%

  Heroin - 79%
• What is an issue with explaining addiction with personality?

  Correlation does not equal causation