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one factor for the development of addiction is stress. increased stress can be linked to traumatic events within your life. for example, jeffrey epstein looked at a study at the national womens study and found that women who was victims of child rape were more likely to be stressed.
however,  one limitation of looking at risk factors is that risk factors can be correlational which can raise serious cause and effect. however, addictions can also create greater levels of stress due to lifestyle choices, relationships and financial affairs.

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Family influences create vulnerability to addiction as perceived parental approval is the most consistently reliable risk factor. Adolescents believes that their parents have positive attitudes towards drugs. E.g. Livingston et al. (2010) found that final year high school students who were allowed to drink alcohol by their parents were more likely to drink excessively in college.
Not one risk factor is casual in addiction as a combination of risk matter more than single factors. Mayes and Suchman (2006) stated that different combinations of risk factors partly determine the nature and severity of an addiction. Moreover ,the factors that have been described as 'risky' can also be protective. For example, some personality traits, genetic characteristics, family and peer influences make addiction less likely. Therefore, there are many pathways to addiction. This is a more complex, interesting and realistic image of addiction vulnerability than the simplistic suggestion that one risk factor is hugely more important than others.

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Risk factors in the development of addiction

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Risk factors in the development of addiction

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A risk factor that influences, mostly, adolescences is the effect of peer relationships. The effect of peers is persistent even when the peers had not used drugs themselves. Mary O'Connell (2009) stated that there are 3 main aspects that make up peer influence- acting as a risk of addiction.
An adolescents attitudes towards substances are associated with the individuals  (peers) who use the substances.
More experienced peers provide opportunities for the at risk individual to take the substance.
The at risk adolescent assumes that their peers use the substance more than reality and abuse it as a result.
Ultimately, the friend group doesn't have to favour drugs necessarily, but rather rule breaking and drugs act as an outlet.

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increased risk to addiction is a associated with periods of chronic stress and traumatic life events during childhood. Epstien et al examined data from the national woman's study. A strong correlation between childhood rape and alcohol addiction was found but only for women diagnosed with ptsd. Thus it appears that there is not an inevitable relationship between a traumatic childhood event and later addiction. simply put a child will only have a vulnerability and stressful situations. Anderson and Teicher highlight that early experiences of severe stress have damaging effects on the brain in a sensitive period of development. this creates a vulnerability to addiction by early adulthood.
research into risk factors is normally correlational which raises major issues of cause and effect. For instance many studies display a strong correlation between stressful events and behaviours related to addiction. However many addictions can create greater levels of stress because of their negative impact on ones lifestyle finances and so on. due to the fact that risk factors and addiction co-relate in these ways it is rather difficult to establish the effects upon the other. This is the case for peer influence, adolescents vulnerable to drug use and are attracted to peer groups that that enjoy rule breaking. Vaughn highlights that risk factors are not causes but correlates until tested through longitudinal studies.

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one risk factor is personality. there has been the strongest correlation between addiction-related behaviour and antisocial personality disorder.

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There are two genetic mechanisms in addiction, first, the way the neurotransmitter dopamine communicates in the brain. This depends on the presence of dopamine molecule receptors on the surfaces of neurones. Abnormally low numbers of the D2 receptor, are thought to be involved in addiction.

Kendler et al. used data from the National Swedish Adoption Study, using a sample of adults who were adopted. They looked at adults adopted from biological families who had at least one parent who was an addict. It was found that these individuals were at great risk of developing an addiction themselves, (9%), compared to adopted individuals with no addicts in the family, (4%). As such, this is strong evidence for the role genetic vulnerability as an important risk factor in developing an addiction.

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family can create vulnerability within addiction

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Genetic vulnerability is an explanation to why individuals become so dependent and others do not. Kendal jenner et al studied adults who had been adopted away as children from their biological families which had at least one parent with an addiction in it. he found that these people had a greater risk of developing an addiction themselves ( 8.6%) Compared to adopted children without a parent with addiction in it. This strongly supports the idea of genetic vulnerability.

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One risk factor that aids the development of addiction is the different forms of stress. There is an increased risk that is linked with periods of chronic, long lasting stress and traumatic life events in childhood. Jefferey Epstein et al (1998)looked at data from the national women's study and found that there is a strong correlation between incidence of childhood rape and alcohol addictions in adult life, but only for women who were diagnosed with PTSD. A child will only have an addiction problem if they have a vulnerability and a later stressful situation.

Even though the research into risk factors associated with addiction have been very productive, there are still major methodological problems with the retrospective nature of many studies. To be able to assess some of the major risk factors requires pps to recall incidents of stress, trauma and family behaviours from the past, sometimes from many years ago. This is an issue as some incidents may be difficult to recall accurately due to the stress or trauma associated .

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stress is a risk factor in the  development of addiction. stress can be a risk linked with periods of chronic , long lasting stress and traumatic life events. Researcher found a strong correlation between incidence of childhood rape and adult alcohol addiction however this was only the condition for those women who were diagnosed with post- traumatic disorder. in contrast, two other researchers suggested that early experiences of severe stress can have damaging effects on the brain in a sensitive period of development. therefore this creates vulnerability to addiction.
there is not only one risk factor that causes addiction, many are combined to influence addiction. researchers found that .

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when naChRs are stimulated by nicotine, the neurotransmitter dopamine is transmitted along the mesolimbic pathway to the nucleus accumbens. this triggers the release of dopamine from the NA in to the frontal cortex. the mesolimbic and mesocortical pathways are part of the brains reward and pleasure centres so nicotine powerfully activates this which results in a pleasureable effect.

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Risk factors in the development of addiction

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Risk factors in the development of addiction

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A risk factor that influences, mostly, adolescences is the effect of peer relationships. The effect of peers is persistent even when the peers had not used drugs themselves. Mary O'Connell (2009) stated that there are 3 main aspects that make up peer influence- acting as a risk of addiction.
An adolescents attitudes towards substances are associated with the individuals  (peers) who use the substances.
More experienced peers provide opportunities for the at risk individual to take the substance.
The at risk adolescent assumes that their peers use the substance more than reality and abuse it as a result.
Ultimately, the friend group doesn't have to favour drugs necessarily, but rather rule breaking and drugs act as an outlet.

However, there is not one certain risk factor that would determine the formation of addiction and instead they all work in synchrony with one another. Mayes and Suchman (2006) highlighted that a combination of risk factors can indicate the strength of the addiction forming but, partly. In addition, all risk factors can have a negative influence too. The influence of peers against drug use is just as strong in the opposite direction. Therefore, there is uncertainty in the direct formation of addiction and its far more complex than the simplistic suggestion.

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dopamine transmission nAChRs are concentrated in the ventral tegmental area of the brain. once the nAChRs are stimulated by nicotine,

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One subtype of ACh receptor is the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) which binds with both ACh & nicotine. When nicotine molecules bind with nAChRs the neuron becomes stimulated and transmits dopamine, but the nicotinic receptor immediately shuts down after, temporarily unresponsive to neurotransmitters. The neuron is argued to be desensitised, leading to downregulation- reduction in the number of active neurons as few are available.

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One subtype of ACh receptor is the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) which binds with both ACh & nicotine. When nicotine molecules bind with nAChRs the neuron becomes stimulated and transmits dopamine, but the nicotinic receptor immediately shuts down after, temporarily unresponsive to neurotransmitters. The neuron is argued to be desensitised, leading to downregulation- reduction in the number of active neurons as few are available.

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One Major problem with the cognitive approach to explaining gambling behaviour is the fact that many studies access the thinking processes of gamblers using self report methods like thinking aloud. Dickerson and O'Connor state that a problem with this method is that the things people say when gambling don't necessarily represent what they really think. Frivolous remarks during a slot machine session might not reflect the addicts deeply held beliefs about the roles of chance and skill in their behaviour.

The idea that addicted gamblers may have systematically different ways of thinking from non gamblers has had valuable implications for effective treatment and prevention. Cognitive treatments, like CBT, directly address the distorted thinking of the gamblers fallacy, or the great significance gamblers attribute to the near miss. Clark(2010) pointed out that cognitive distortions probably have an underlying cause in neurochemistry meaning cognitive theories are also stimulating research into biological treatments as well.

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the learning theory of gambling addiction suggests that gambling can provide two sources of direct positive reinforcement; winning money being one of them. the second being the 'buzz' that accompanies a gamble. it can also provide an escape, although its temporary, which makes it a negative reinforcement so much so that it offers a distraction from stimuli such as anxieties of everyday life.

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Carter and Tiffany (1999) conducted a meta-analysis into the effects of cue reactivity. They had 41 studies that investigated a range of substance addictions. These studies usually present dependent and non-dependent smokers, and non smokers with images of smoking related cues, such as lighters, ashtrays and cigarette packets. They measured self-reported desire or craving along with several physiological indicators of arousal (heart rate, etc). Carter and Tiffany found that dependent smokers reacted strongly to cues presented to them, reporting high levels of craving and increased physiological arousal. The findings were consistent with predictions derived from cue reactivity theory. Secondary conditioning operates so that addicts have a powerful tendency to experience the arousing effects of nicotine in response to cues associated with smoking, even when no nicotine is present.

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a researcher studied 30 addicted gamblers that attended the national problem gambling clinic and compared them with 30 non gamblers that were a control group. Addicted gamblers had higher gambling related cognitive distortions and were more impulsive and were more likely to want instant rewards that were smaller rather than larger rewards over a long period of time. therefore these findings support that's there's a strong cognitive component to gambling addiction.

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One reason why people gamble is because of vicarious reinforcement, the experience of seeing others be rewarded for gambling, which results in pleasure and enjoyment. This isn’t always direct observation of people’s behaviour as newspapers and magazines report positively on gamble winners, which can trigger a desire of the same reinforcement in non-gamblers.

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One reason why people gamble is because of vicarious reinforcement, the experience of seeing others be rewarded for gambling, which results in pleasure and enjoyment. This isn’t always direct observation of people’s behaviour as newspapers and magazines report positively on gamble winners, which can trigger a desire of the same reinforcement in non-gamblers.

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Gambling provides 2 sources of direct positive reinforcement. Winning money reinforces continued betting and the emotions that accompany gambling are reinforcing as they are thrilling. Gambling can provide an escape for individuals which is negative reinforcement as it offers a distraction from the anxieties of everyday life.

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Gambling provides 2 sources of direct positive reinforcement. Winning money reinforces continued betting and the emotions that accompany gambling are reinforcing as they are thrilling. Gambling can provide an escape for individuals which is negative reinforcement as it offers a distraction from the anxieties of everyday life.

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Learning theory in the formation of gambling addiction

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Learning theory in the formation of gambling addiction

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Learning theory suggests that there is an aspect of conditioning in the formation of gambling addiction. Gambling is reinforced in different manners. For instance, gamblers are reinforced vicariously- they see others being rewarded (not necessarily directly but can be through different medias) for their behaviour with pleasure and money. Once a gambler has started they are partly reinforced in their behaviour causing persistent behaviour. They only receive rewards some of the time (every so often on a bet) making it unpredictable when a bet will pay off.

However, there is a limitation to the explanation of the formation of addiction in the aspect that individual differences can play a part in the likely hood of these processes occurring. Griffiths and Delfabbro (2001) state that the conditioning process doesnt occur the same in every one. Responses of the same stimuli can have different reactions in different people causing frluxuation in arousal

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the expectancy theory states that gamblers have expectations about the future benefits and costs of their behaviour. gambling addiction develops and maintains because the addict pays more attention to gambling-related information and remembers it selectively. rickwood et al classified these cognitive biases into four categories: skill and judgement- addicts have an illusion of control in which they overestimate their ability to influence a random event. personal traits- addicts believe they have a greater probability of winning because they especially lucky. selective recall- gamblers can remember the details of their wins but they forget or discount their losses. faulty perceptions- gamblers have distorted perceptions about the operation of chance, also known as gamblers fallacy, the belief that a losing streak cannot last is always about to be ended by a win.

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according to cognitive psychologists, cognitive biases play a significant role in the development of gambling addiction. A gambling addiction develops and is maintained due to the addicts paying more attention to gambling related information that is selectively remembered. Rickwood et al  classified these cognitive biases and distortions into four categories. Firstly the skill and judgement category that proposes that addicts overestimate their ability to influence random events. The second category is personal traits and ritual behaviours which states that gambling addicts believe they are especially lucky which gives them a greater chance of winnig

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One issue is that the behaviourist approach fails to explain why women are generally less successful at giving up smoking then men are. Even cessation programmes based on conditioning  principles are less effective for women. Carpenter et al (2014) suggest that younger women are more sensitive to smoking related cues, this makes it more difficult for them to stop smoking and to prevent relapse after a period if abstention. This could be explained by the concept of self efficacy . it may be that female smokers have less confidence in their ability to give up smoking which undermines their attempts to do so.

There is a large amount of research from animal studies that confirm the role of conditioning in nicotine addiction. One example is Levin et al(2010)

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Michalczuk et al .(2011) studied 30 addicted gamblers attending the 'National Problem Gambling Clinic' in the UK, and compared them to 30 non-gambling control participants. The addicted gamblers showed significantly higher levels of gambling-related cognitive distortions of all types (e.g. illusions of control). They were more impulsive and were more likely to prefer immediate rewards even when they were smaller than rewards they could gain if they waited. These findings support the view that there's a strong cognitive component to gambling addiction.

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