Psychology Term Paper

Addiction refers to an underlying, chronic disorder of brain reward, motivation, memory and related circuitry (American Society of Addiction Medicine, 2016). The dysfunction that occur in these circuits leads to the characteristic biological, social, psychological and spiritual manifestations that get reflected in a personal pathologically pursuing reward and relief by drug abuse and other behaviors. This condition affects neurotransmission and interactions within reward structures of the brain such as the nucleus accumbens, basal forebrain, anterior cingulated cortex, and amygdala hence leading to changing of the motivational hierarchies and addictive behaviors, supplant healthy, self-care related behaviors. The condition is also associated with the impact on neurotransmission and interactions between cortical and hippocampal circuits and brain reward structures hence leading to a craving in addictive behaviors caused by a biological as well as behavioral response to external cues in the memory of previous exposures to external cues. The degree of addictive behavior involvement functions to produce pleasure as well as provide relief from discomfort to the extent where the costs exceed the benefits. Addiction problems range from drug and substance use to gambling to eating to sex. Addictive behaviors are harmful as they adversely impact both the person and larger societal groups such as families, cultures, and organizations. It is essential for individuals to make significant changes so as to recover from addictions. Some of the changes include changing old thought patterns, learning new behaviors, increasing their maturity as well as improving coping skills (Horvath, Misra, Epner and Cooper, 2016).

Factors Contributing to Addiction

The physical activity of indulging in substance and drug abuse is a personal choice; however, the addiction concern for addicts is not a personal choice. Addiction gets characterized by behaviors that include the inability to consistently abstain, craving for drugs or rewarding experiences, impairment in behavioral control, a dysfunctional emotional response, and partial pleasure and reduced recognition of problems. Various factors get attributed to drug or behavior addiction such as psychological factors, biological factors (such as the brain reward circuitry and genetic predisposition), environmental factors as well as cultural factors. The combination and interaction of the different factors increase the individual’s risk of becoming an addict

Psychological Factors

Psychologists get concerned with enhancing the quality of life and their life satisfaction through considering the behaviors that promote the well-being of people and the life satisfaction adaptive behaviors. The behaviors that contribute to limiting people’s ability and diminishing of life satisfaction get referred to as maladaptive behaviors.  In psychology, addiction gets classified as a maladaptive behavior; hence psychological models play a critical role in understanding the reasons for addiction. One of the psychological factors that result in addiction is that individuals may engage in harmful behaviors due to abnormality or “psychopathology” that manifests as a mental disease. Psychologists have associated mental disorders such as cognitive difficulties, mood disturbances, etc. with addiction and addictive behaviors. Addiction and some mental illnesses may occur together in a condition known as co-morbidity. Miller, Forcehimes & Zweben (2011) states that addiction in half of the persons seeking addiction therapeutic interventions the contributing factor is the mental disorder. Another psychological factor is that peoples’ thoughts and beliefs create their feelings, hence determining the behavior of the person. When an individual’s thoughts and beliefs are unrealistic or dysfunctional, consequently their resultant behavior gets impacted. The environment also gets proposed by psychologists as a critical factor leading to the addiction and addictive behaviors. An addictive personality is also closely related to psychopathology. Various personality characteristics that are fundamental factors in all addictive disorders include the denial of obvious personal issues, problems with emotional regulation and issues with impulse regulation. Personality disorders frequently co-occur with the addiction problem. Temperament behavior in an individual that includes attractiveness to excitement, the tendency to be impulsive, and the intolerant of frustration, influence greatly the emergence of drug addiction problem.  Psychotherapy has made various efforts to identify as well as resolve core psychological illnesses. The efforts include restructuring the personality or enhancing the patient’s cognitive and emotional functioning.

The process of childhood development can be disrupted at particular points leading to abnormal developments that cause a disposition to develop and addiction. Three core functions of addiction in the light of depth psychology are an addiction as a means of satisfaction, addiction as a means of defense (such as depression and anxiety), and addiction as a means of compensating (such as for a sense of inferiority) (Mouzas, 2011). Drug craving makes a person develop a powerful, uncontrollable desire for drugs and substances such as heroin, alcohol, nicotine, etc. Various levels of craving exist. For instance, cocaine addicts experience an acute craving when using the drug, but the ex-cocaine user has chronic needs that get triggered by familiar environmental cues that elicit positive memories of cocaine reinforcing impacts. Scholars suggest that the introduction of pharmacological or psychological therapies that reduce or eliminate drug cravings could play a critical role in enhancing successful treatment of drug dependence (Hanson, Venturelli & Fleckenstein, 2011).

Biological Factors

Genetic predisposition contributes significantly to the vulnerability for the development of dependence and relapse in addiction. Scholars estimate that approximately 40 to 60 percent of the risk of addiction is due to genetic heritability. The estimates of heredity are the percentage of the variance attributed to genetic factors by themselves and also the percentage of the variance attributed to gene-environment interactions. The presence of a psychiatric and medical illness, the potency of the substance and mode of administration also get associated with the development of drug and substance addictions. A study of identical and fraternal twins showed that there is a higher similarity in the rate of alcoholism for identical twins as compared to fraternal twins when alcohol abuse commences before the age of 20 years (Hanson, Venturelli & Fleckenstein, 2011). The aspect is due to identical twins having 100 percent of their genes in common; while fraternal twins share only 50 percent of their genes. Genetic factors hence are critical in determining the likelihood of alcohol dependence. Numerous other biological factors contribute to addictions. They include poor adrenal function, malfunctioning neurotransmitters, low thyroid function, hypoglycemia, food allergies, nutritional deficiencies, adrenal insufficiency, yeast overgrowth as well as fatigue. The autonomy of biology and the power of biological aspects and cognitive biases over conscious efforts to change have not fully got acknowledged in cognitive-behavioral therapeutic approaches to addiction. Addicted persons have limited abilities to deal with stress issues. It is evident from the high levels of stress hormones in patients undergoing detoxification or in the withdrawal state, and also when the persons are subject to subsequent stress.

Environmental factors

Various social and environment factors contribute to addiction. They include peer pressure (especially in the initial drug experimentation), stressful events, and easy drug access environment. Peer pressure from individuals who engage in antisocial behavior and favor drug abuse influence significantly addictive behaviors. A majority of young adults get initiated into alcohol consumption through influence from friends and peers at school, work or in the neighborhood. Stressful life events that include job loss, the death of a family member, failing an examination, work-related stress, family circumstances (such as divorce, domestic violence, and conflict) are important influences of drug addiction, especially alcohol consumption. The community and the socioeconomic status also influence greatly drug initiation and addiction. For instance factors such as the community’s attitude towards drug and substance abuse, low neighborhood attachment, community disorganizations and lack of employment opportunities for the youth contribute significantly to addiction. The access to drugs in a neighborhood including schools and work environments can also influence drug initiation an addiction. The repeated involvement in addictive behavior leads to neuroadaptation in motivational circuitry hence resulting into impaired control over further engagement in addiction. Environmental factors interact with biological factors and influence the extent to which genetic aspects affect addiction. The resiliencies that a person acquires through parenting or other life experiences affect the extent that genetic predispositions result in behavioral and other manifestations of addiction.

Other factors that influence addiction include distortion in meaning, purpose and values that guide attitudes, thinking and behavior, distortions in an individual’s connection with self, etc.

Conclusion

Psychological, biological and environmental factors are important factors that contribute to addictions. The determination of the contributing factor to addiction would play a core role in improving addiction treatment. It is, however, difficult to determine the specific contributing factors to drug dependence. Social support is essential in assisting addicts to deal with the problem regardless of the influence of addiction.

References

American Society of Addiction Medicine (2016): Definition of Addiction

Hanson, G., Venturelli, P., & Fleckenstein, A. (2011): Drugs and Society. Jones & Bartlett Publishers.

Horvath, T. Ph.D., Misra, K. Ph.D., Epner, A. K. Ph.D., and Cooper, G. M. Ph.D., (2016): The Psychology of Addiction and Recovery

Miller, W. R., Forchimes, A. A., & Zweben, A. (2011): Treating addiction: A guide for professionals. New York: Guilford.

Mouzas, I. A. (2011): Alcohol and tobacco. Medical and sociological aspects of use, abuse and addiction: by Otto-Michael Lesch, Henriette Walter, Christian Wetschka, Michie Hesselbrock, Victor Hesselbrock 2011 Springer, Wien New York, 353 pages. Annals of Gastroenterology: Quarterly Publication of the Hellenic Society of Gastroenterology, 24(2), 142.

Sherry Roberts is the author of this paper. A senior editor at Melda Research in nursing writing services if you need a similar paper you can place your order for non plagiarized essay for sale.