vulnerability to addiction personality

Vulnerability to addiction (risk factors)
Personality – vulnerability / risk factor
• Lawton - Originally believed that addiction led to personality defects; however some research indicated that defective personality characteristics precede addiction.

• Eysenck – developed a psychological resource model, he believed that certain personality types lead to addiction.
• Suggested that individuals develop habit based on purpose related to personality type e.g. hedonist, sensation seeker
• Eysenck believed 3 major personality dimensions which are genetic
 P – psychotism e.g. aggression, coldness, impulsivity
 N – neurotism e.g. moodiness, irritability, anxiety
 E – extraversion e.g. sociability, liveliness
•  There is little evidence to support a relationship between extraversion and drug dependence .
 Francis - However convincing evidence for link between dependence on alchohol , heroin BZ and nicotine and higher than normal scores in N and P
•  Correlational data and thus hard to infer causation.
• Data collected via questionnaire reduces validity
  Eysenck believed that these personalities were genetically determined – too reductionist – can’t reduce personality down to action of genes
Antisocial personality and addiction
• Rounsaville et al and Slutsky et al – found a strong link between alcoholism and antisocial personality disorder and ADD. o Important for clinicians to be aware that substance addiction frequently coexists with other mental disorders and this has implication for successful treatment. o Personality represents an individual difference. Personality is likely to be product of both nature and nurture interacting.
• Lawton - Overall evidence suggests that personality predisposes certain individuals to vulnerablility, though the concept of a distinct addictive personality type has not been supported. Common traits include, not valuing achievement, a desire for immediate gratification and high levels of reported stress.