Research consistently shows that genetics play a significant role in the development of addictive behaviors (Deak & Johnson, 2021). Individuals with a family history of addiction are at higher risk of developing similar problems. Studies suggest that genetic factors can account for a substantial portion of a person’s vulnerability to addiction (Koob et al., 2023). These inherited traits can influence how the brain responds to substances or addictive activities, making some individuals more susceptible.
- The model, therefore, allows for diverse and multidimensional aspects of knowledge to be drawn upon depending on the concern to be addressed, and the tools available to address them (Cochrane 2007).
- Biology includes genetics and brain chemistry, while psychology examines an individual’s thoughts, emotions, and coping mechanisms.
- The prominent belief several decades ago was that addiction resulted from bad choices stemming from a morally weak person.
- These perceptions may greatly affect addiction recovery rates (Godin and Kok 1996).
- Factors such as availability and peer modeling account for the inter- and intra-group disparities (Thomas 2007).
Substance use disorders / Addictions as a Biopsychosocial Plus phenomenon
- It also takes into consideration aspects of health functioning such as addictive behaviour, diet, exercise, self-care, nutrition, sleep and genetics.
- Autonomy, therefore, is not adequately defined just by the events in the brain or the “quality” of the decision being made.
- Factors such as drug availability within the environment can increase craving and consequently the vulnerability for relapse (Weiss 2005).
- Since the so-called brain disease model of addiction does not resolve the volitional nature of substance use completely, a biopsychosocial systems approach attempts to contextualize the individual, thus providing a model to better understand both responsibility and self in addiction.
- Personality theories suggest certain personality traits, like impulsivity or risk-taking, can make someone more prone to addiction.
- Many pieces, including cultural norms, social circles, situations, personality, biology, and even beliefs, fit together.
Gilllett argues that the causal model is based on a faulty account of human autonomy and consciousness and is scientifically and conceptually questionable. Gillett criticizes theories of decision-making that conceptualize choice as autonomous phenomenon only if inner mental states or networks cause it. Rates of substance use and dependence vary across, and even within, cultural and social groups (Wallace 1999; Wallace, Bachman, O’Malley et al. 2002).
In our assignment this week, we will discuss the Biomedical model and its pros and cons. We will also discuss the Biopsychosocial model and how it offered a broader scope to disease and illness and re-distributed roles and responsibilities among the clinical team, patients, and families. We will then shed some light on Health Psychology as a domain that embraces the biopsychosocial model. We will also explore Health Psychology’s role in predicting depressive episodes, their recurrence, and how it helps manage the illness by different approaches. The social dimension is considered to be vitally important, it is the immediate interpersonal domain that is most proximal to the person who develops an addictive disorder.
When we look at the psychological dimension, it also allows us to understand and work more effectively in helping individuals, families and communities thrive and flourish in a positive way. When we understand sober house the impact of our perception, purpose of rewards, motivation, expectancy, and maturation, it helps us to find solutions to the addictive behaviours that may not have been an option previously. It allows for the development of more positive behaviours by understanding alternatives, and more possibilities and gives opportunities for making positive decisions with those options.
Furthermore, some communities are targeted more heavily with alcohol and tobacco advertisements and have more availability of drugs of abuse than others, particularly impoverished communities (Primack et al., 2007; Rose et al., 2019). Therefore, the social environment in which one exists contributes to their risk of addiction. It is important not to look at the biological dimension as neurobiology alone, but to also take into consideration aspects of health functioning such as addictive behaviour, diet, exercise, self-care, nutrition, sleep and genetics. Properties of the biopsychosocial systems model are reflected in the case example of HAT.
Systems theory, therefore, balances reductionism and the intrinsic heterogeneity within systems. There are several processes that actively contribute to substance use with inputs and outputs on biological and psycho-social levels. One example is drug craving that may be experienced as strong, intense urges for immediate gratification that may impair rational thought about future planning (Elster and Skog 1999).
The Psychology of Addictions: A Biopsychosocial Perspective
It bridges the gap between the brain and behavior, specifically focusing on how substance use affects brain function and how those changes contribute to addiction. Personality theories in addiction explore the connection between personality traits and a person’s vulnerability to addiction. These theories propose that specific personality characteristics can make someone more likely to develop or struggle with addiction. For example, researchers have found a robust association between trauma and addiction (Dube et al., 2002, 2003; Giordano et al., 2016). Indeed, in the original Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) study, Felitti et al. (1998) found that more ACEs increased the odds of subsequent drug and alcohol use. One explanation for this trend is that the toxic stress from trauma leads to a dysregulated stress response.
Importance in Addiction Treatment
An individual living with an addiction is in-the-world-with-others and thus acts as a being-among-others, such that the individual’s decisions and complex engagement with the world may not be as automatic as the neurophilosophical model may suggest (Gillett 2008a, 2008b, 2009). For that reason, individuals who live with an addiction may not completely be enslaved or forced by their brain in the way in which, as Levy (2007a) has previously deferred to Aristotle (1999), “a wind or people have an agent in their control were to carry him off” (p.30). Given the spectrum nature of substance use problems, decision-making capacity is therefore neither completely present nor absent, but may be, at some times in certain contexts, weakened.
Trauma and Life Stressors
We will be exploring substance use disorders as a biopsychosocial phenomenon and unpack biological, psychological and social theories of substance abuse. You may choose to explore other theories, there are links to multiple theories of substance use disorders in additional resources. Addiction is often described as a brain disease because it alters the brain’s structure and function (Koob et al., 2023). The repeated use of addictive substances or engagement in addictive behaviors hijacks https://www.inkl.com/news/sober-house-rules-a-comprehensive-overview the brain’s reward circuitry, primarily in regions such as the nucleus accumbens and the prefrontal cortex.
If you have been negatively impacted by one of these factors, are you susceptible to a substance use disorder? The research indicates yes; remembering it is one risk factor and does not mean it WILL lead to a substance use disorder. This theory is often used in counselling in supporting individuals with substance use disorders as it allows supporters to focus on individual, environmental, and societal factors.
Addiction Neuroethics in the Clinical Context
By targeting the cognitive and neuropsychological aspects of addiction, treatment can be more comprehensive and lead to better long-term outcomes for individuals struggling with substance use disorders. The factors that increase an individual’s risk for addiction are numerous, yet they all find their place in the biopsychosocial model of addiction (Marlatt & Baer, 1988). Taken together, this model provides a holistic conceptualization of addiction that acknowledges the complexity of the disorder and provides guidance toward a solution, which must necessarily be multifaceted and holistic as well. The more we know about the biopsychosocial model, the more we can foster accurate empathy for those with addiction and work toward effective treatment and prevention efforts.
The social burden of illicit drug addiction is estimated at billions of dollars per year (Fisher, Oviedo-Joekes, Blanken, et al. 2007). Research that involves providing drugs to individuals living with an addiction must negotiate between science, ethics, politics, law, and evidence-based medicine. For instance, despite its cost-effectiveness and ease on burden of disease, the supervised injection site (SIS) in the Downtown Eastside area of Vancouver, Canada has been repeatedly threatened with closure by politicians.
Heroin is lipid soluble, which leads to fast penetration of the blood-brain barrier and high abuse potential (Julien 2001). The reinforcing and euphoric properties of opiates arise from increased amounts of extracellular dopamine in the ventral tegmental area and nucleus accumbens. Individuals experiencing withdrawal may suffer severe symptoms that include sweating, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and irritability (Koob and Le Moal 2005). The risk of mortality is increased due to overdoses; there is an increased risk of acquiring bacterial infections, and other blood-borne pathogens such as HIV and HCV, as described earlier. Concurrent mental illness and addiction the norm rather than exception further characterize individuals with severe opiate addiction (Rush, Urbanoski, Bassani, et al. 2008). Notions of a pathologized self, deeply enmeshed with personal identity, may lead an individual to internally negotiate a relationship between the self and the brain (Dumit 2003).