Addictive Behaviours - Research Paper Example

Addictive Behaviours Addictive behaviours are inherited and there is little a person with susceptibility genes can do to prevent their onset. Discuss. Introduction Addiction used to be considered a vice in medieval times and even till the Victorian age, few individuals were able to see it as a psychological disease which could be cured with the right tools. However, our understanding of addiction today has improved tremendously and as discussed by Everitt et. al. (2001) we now know that there is a neurological and genetic element to certain types of addictions. However, this also opens up the debate concerning the inheritance of addiction and what if anything a person can do to prevent the onset of addictive behaviour if it is simply in their genes. To better understand what can be done and what the genetic component to addiction means, we first have to analyse the concept of addiction and then examine how the genetic model compares with several other models which explain addictive behaviour as well as the reality that we have in treating and handling addiction as it dealt by with the courts of law and a morally guided culture. The Concept of Addiction As discussed by Peele et. al. (1998) the basic concept of addiction can be understood as the visible, quantifiable, and often pathological activity of an individual that displays its inability to leave a habit which creates a desire for a physical substance or the engaging in a particular act. This concept was further developed by Compton (2001) who adds that the addictive behaviour may be due to a mental or a physical dependence which is based on a person’s habit. This is certainly an improvement over the common understanding of addiction in which a person is said to be addicted if s/he continues to use a substance despite causing harm to his/her person. When a person is at such a state, the addictive behaviour exhibited by the individual can increase with time. This increase can be represented in several ways which include an increase in the amount or the frequency of using the addictive substance or exhibiting the addictive behaviour. Since the behaviour increases with time if it remains unchecked, a person who eventually comes to seek help for addictive behaviour may be at a very late stage of addiction. To break such a person away from his/her addiction can become a difficult issue and health services providers need to understand what can be done to free a person from their various addictions (Newell, 1998). This is because addiction itself is of many sorts and an individual can get addicted to many different things. Historically, the literature on the topic tends to focus on addiction as it harmful substances like heroine, alcoholic and tobacco while the evaluation of the neurological and genetic components of addiction is a relatively recent phenomenon (Everitt et. al., 2001). Peele et. al. (1998) wrote on the concept of addition as it connects with the use of cocaine and amongst several dangerous signs of addiction it was told that in clinical trials, animals who were given unlimited access to cocaine imbibed themselves with the drug until they died from taking an overdose. In the case of humans however, we have interceding mechanisms which can often prevent the disasters that come from addiction. Trained psychologists and doctors as well as nurses are supposed to help those who face addiction as a curable disease. Experimental results have certainly shown success with a very severe form of addiction i.e. cigarettes, where half of the smokers in an experiment were able to beat their habit with the help of a nurse who had nothing more than a booklet and no special training other than her training as a professional nurse (Bialus & Sarna, 2004). Models of Addiction In this manner, there is evidence to support both a behavioural component to addiction as well as a genetic component (Everitt et. al., 2001). However, this does not mean that a person can do nothing about their addictions since they have a genetic element. In fact, it can point a person in the right direction with regard to the addictive nature of certain substances and the likelihood of becoming an addict if they chose to indulge in dangerous behaviour. In fact, the full picture concerning addiction becomes clear only when other models concerning addiction have been understood. A Disease For example, the disease model of addiction maintains that the addictive behaviour exhibited by an individual is actually the manifestation of the symptoms of a disease (Thombs, 2005). The onset of the disease can have a genetic part but in many cases, like other disease that may be caused by environmental, viral or bacterial factors, addiction results as a response to the environment a specimen is placed in. As a disease, addiction results when the person’s neurological or behavioural patterns have changed to such as extent that the state of that person’s mind and body can be said to be addicted to certain substances or actions. The most important aspect of working with this model with regard to addiction is that the disease is seen as treatable or at least manageable (Thombs, 2005). Depending on the level of addiction, the disease may be curable as simply as a throat infection or would have to be strictly managed as diabetes has to be managed with a strict regime. In fact, this is the generally accepted model of addiction treatment since seeing it as a disease allows policies to be formed, numerical analysis to be conducted and success rates measured with regard to addiction reduction. However, as an added benefit, it gives the individual fighting the disease the will to beat the disease of addiction rather than to see it as something which is simply a part of their genetic makeup. Moreover, Thombs (2005, Pg. 7) reports that, “Because alcoholics and addicts are seen as suffering from an illness; the logical conclusion is that they deserve compassionate care, help and treatment.” Evaluating the disease model in comparison to the genetic model for explaining addiction, we find that there is tremendous support for taking addiction as a disease and relatively little data which supports a genetic component (Thombs, 2005). Therefore, unless more research is conducted into connecting genetics with addictive behaviour, it may be premature to consider genes to be the root cause of addiction rather than environmental factors and individual choice. The matter of choice makes the disease model closer to what we see in reality since the legal system that we have today for handling addiction is based on a disease-moral guide. As noted by Thombs (2005): Drug courts “sentence” offenders to “treatment”, DWI (driving while intoxicated) offenders may be required to participate in treatment or to attend AA meetings, employers make workers’ continued employment contingent upon seeking treatment and so on (Thombs, 2005, Pg. 4). Certainly these approaches do not consider the genetic component of the addictive behaviour since it is unlikely that a person can be charged, convicted or even punished for exhibiting the symptoms of a genetic ailment. While psychologists and medical health professionals do give some weight to the genetic model, the courts do not. In fact, the present mixture of morality with disease may lead people to think that all addictions are a result of human weakness or individuals character flaws. This may be taken to the point where the genetic component or any neurological basis for addiction as a disease is denied altogether. Serious addicts who need social assistance may be seen as nothing more than a drain on social resources while moral strength and even faith may be considered as realistic cures for serious substance abuse. This model of using morality to explain addiction is certainly not a positive approach when it comes to seeking an answer to the problem of addiction and it seems to be founded more in cultural as well as socioeconomic dogma rather than actual scientific theories. The Genetic Model Therfore, when we examine the facts, the genetic model cannot be dismissed out of hand since there is strong evidence to support the theory that genes may have a part to play in deciding whether a person gets addicted or not. The genetic model suggests that certain individuals may find that they have a genetic predisposition towards behaving in certain ways. Just as certain diseases may run in the family, for example breast cancer or diabetes; certain addictions can also be passed from one generation to the other. DiClemente (2006) comes across as a strong supporter of the genetic model for understanding addiction and shows how a person’s risk of becoming an alcohol addict increases proportionally as the number of alcoholic relatives rise. Since there is evidence to support a genetic component, scientists are looking for means to cure the problem through genetic means as well. DiClemente (2006) notes that, “it is clear that the search is not for a single “alcoholism gene” and that the solution with be polygenetic and complex (DiClemente, 2006, Pg. 9)”. The Experiential Model Peele et. al. (1998) consider the experiential model of addiction to be the one which best explains why people get addicted to certain substances and consider that the experiences of a person will make a person become addicted. However, the model also suggests that addictions are relatively easy to break since they may be situational or experiential and it is likely that some people may be able to outgrow their addictions to various drugs or habits. The experiential model finds support from comparative cultural studies where availability of drugs or other habit forming substances may curtail dependence or addiction. For example, nations where the consumption of alcohol or the consumption of tobacco is prohibited may find that they are fewer people who are addicted to these substances amongst the population. Even the genetic component said to be connected with alcoholic relatives is explained by the experiential model as the child experiencing heavy use of alcohol learns to accept it and use it whenever s/he wants to. Conclusion It seems that all models for explaining addiction are looking for someone to blame for the addiction itself. The genetic model blames the genetic predisposition of a person to get addicted to certain substances and if they are freely available, the person is likely to get addicted. The disease approach cites environmental factors and personal choices while keeping an eye towards genetics. Our legal systems look at addiction with a moral viewpoint while experiential explanations of why certain people get addicted to alcohol or drugs also try and place the blame on one thing or the other. However, considering the very concept of addiction and the relevant models which have been applied by various scientists, it seems that taking genetics to be the only element which leads to addiction is as wrong as taking addiction as a moral dilemma. Every model has something to offer to the scientists working with addiction and it is up to them to consider them as evidence comes to support each particular model. Therefore it is easy to come to the conclusion that no single model is the best and components from each model can be used to explain why one particular person becomes addicted to one particular substance or behaviour. At the same time, the support for the genetic model shows us that there is a lot a person can do who is at risk of becoming addicted and prevention for that person can be used as much as prevention and pre-onset care is suggested for individuals who have a family history of heart disease or diabetes. It is this prevention which could become more valuable than treating that person for genetically induced addiction that comes at a later stage in life. Works Cited Bialus, S. & Sarna, L. (2004). Sparing a Few Minutes for Tobacco Cessation. Journal of Nursing, 104(12), p54-60. Compton, P. (2001). Controlling Pain: Understanding addictive disease. Journal of Nursing, 31(9), p28. DiClemente, C. 2006, Addiction and Change: How Addictions Develop and Addicted People Recover, Guilford. Everitt. B. et. al. 2001, The neuropsychological basis of addictive behaviour, Cambridge University Press. Newell. R. (1998). Addiction Nursing. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 28(4), p920. Owen, H. (1997). Alcohol and drug education in schools of nursing. Journal of Alcohol & Drug Education, 42 (3), p54-81. Peele, S. et. al. (1998). Cocaine and the concept of addiction. Journal of Addiction Research. 6(3), p235-264. Thombs, D. 2005, Introduction to Addictive Behaviours, Guilford. . Read More