introduction
- Risk behaviour = risk to a healthy physical, cognitive, psychosocial
development of adolescents can lead to addiction
Types: substance use, online gambling, gaming, social media use
Depends on
1) Characteristics of the particular substance/behavior (smoking is
risky cause you get addicted fast)
2) cultural/societal norms
3) scientific knowledge: adolescent brain is not completely
developed, so drinking alcohol negatively affects it (knowledge
has influence)
- Developmental process of addiction: first contact with a substance
experimenting integrated use (regular/daily smoker/drinker)
excessive use addicted use
Positive reinforcement occurs when the rate of a behavior increases
because a desirable experience (e.g., euphoria, relaxation) is
resulting from the behavior.
Negative reinforcement occurs when the rate of a behavior
increases because an aversive experience is prevented from
happening (e.g., withdrawal symptoms), or negative feeling is taken
away
- Developments during adolescence
1. Early adolescence (10-14): physical growth, sexual maturation,
psychosocial development, social identity formation (young people
looking at their place/status in peer groups) After this phase boys
and girls are at the same point in their development
2. Mid adolescence (15 – 17): experimenting with (risk) behaviours,
personal identity formation
3. Late adolescence (18 – 24): practicing adult roles first jobs, serious
romantic relationships, first house etc.
- Neurological development:
1. Strong growth in brain volume: increase in white matter (connections),
but decrease in grey matter (nerve cells) more rapidly in girls,
compared to boys
Pruning: if you don’t use it, you lose it
2. High plasticity and flexibility of the brain: become very skilled in the
skills you use most not using = losing
3. Increase in white matter: communication between brain regions
strongly improves
Long term memory increases
Capacity for abstract (critical) thinking and metacognition
increases responsible for the conflict between parents &
children (getting more critical of the behaviors of parents)
- Peak risk behavior in adolescence:
Due to the fact that two brain areas develop in different times
emotional brain (affective-motivational system) develops fast, while
rational brain (control system) develops much slower =
frontostriatal model of adolescent decision making
, o Affective-motivational system: overactive during early and
midadolescence, experience stronger positive emotions than
adults when they receive or anticipate a reward bottom-up
o Control system: develops slowly, until about 25 years. Plays
an important role in the development of executive functions
top-down
Risk estimation
Monitoring long-term goals (not skipping college
because of nice weather, but coming so you can get
your degree
Inhibit the tendency to respond to (short-term)
possibilities for reward (impulse control, behavioral
inhibition, self control)
Maturation Imbalance Model: increased risk-taking during
adolescence is a result of an imbalance between reward sensitivity
(the affective-motivational system) and impulse control (control
system)
o Horse and rider metaphor: horse wants to run and be free,
rider wants the horse to be controlled (balancing)
horse > motivational system: bottom-up processes,
behavioral activation
rider > control system: top-down processes,
behavioural inhibition
- Addiction definition
1. Intensional: uses causal or process models to describe addiction,
offering strong explanatory insights into how addiction develops
2. extensional: classification of characteristics of an addiction
,
Dsm-5: clustering in 4 dimensions loss of control, social and
other impairments, continuation of use despite knowledge of risk,
pharmalogica effects (withdrawal & tolerance)
- Criteria for diagnosis of addiction mild (2 criteria), moderate (4 criteria)
and severe (6 or more criteria)
Failure to fulfill major role obligations at work, school, home
Frequent use of substances in situations in which it is physically
hazardous
Continued use despite persistent / recurrent social or interpersonal
problems
Tolerance
Withdrawal symptoms or substance use to avoid withdrawal
symptoms
Use of a substance in larger amounts or over a longer period than
intended
Persistent desire or unsuccessful efforts to cut down or control
substance use
Large amount of time spent in obtaining, using or recovering from
the substance
Reduction of social, occupational or recreational activities due to of
substance use
Use of substances despite persistent / recurrent physical or
psychological consequences
Craving for the substance
- Stages of addiction;
1. Initial social use > alcohol is socially accepted & expected
2. Escalation of substance use > building up the frequency and quantity of
drinking for instance
3. Withdrawal > psychical symptoms, negative emotional state > full-
blown addiction
4. Recurrent relapses > some people have a relapse one time, others have
it their whole life
5. Loss of control
- Behavioural addictions: repeated behaviour leading to significant harm or
distress of a functionally impairing nature, which is not reduced by the
person and persists over a significant period of time”
- dsm 5 classifications:
1. Gambling Disorder official disorder
2. Internet Gaming Disorder condition warranting more clinical research
before considering it as a formal disorder
- Social media and gaming lead to significant harm/distress of a functionally
impairing nature, which is not reduced by the person