Extraversion, self-monitoring, and loneliness are also common characteristics found in those who suffer from addiction. Individuals who score high on self-monitoring are more prone to developing an addiction. High self-monitors are sensitive to social situations; they act how they think others expect them to act.
A person's genes, the action of the drug, peer pressure, emotional distress, anxiety, depression, and environmental stress can all be factors. Many who develop a substance use problem have depression, attention deficit disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, or another mental problem.
Feeling that you have to use the drug regularly — daily or even several times a day. Having intense urges for the drug that block out any other thoughts. Over time, needing more of the drug to get the same effect. Taking larger amounts of the drug over a longer period of time than you intended.
Innovations in Clinical Neuroscience writes that as many as 66 percent of patients diagnosed with borderline personality disorder have a psychological dependence on drugs, alcohol, or both, so much so that substance abuse and BPD are “common bedfellows.” Similarly, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse ...
In summary, anxiety proneness, depression proneness, sensation seeking, and impulsivity were found to be four major influential personality factors of substance use in previous studies.
The addiction components model operationally defines addictive activity as any behavior that features what I believe are the six core components of addiction (i.e., salience, mood modification, tolerance, withdrawal symptoms, conflict, and relapse) (Griffiths, 2005).
Depression and anxiety are some of the most common psychological factors to influence cognition by causing an individual to have more negative interpretations of the world. The main characteristics of psychological factors involve aspects of one's lifestyle, like work and stress, and personality traits.
Psychological factor • Efficacy of a drug can be affected by the patient's beliefs, attitudes and expectations. This is particularly applicable to centrally acting drugs. Placebo: This is an inert substance which is given in the garb of a medicine. It works by psychodynamically rather than pharmacodynamically.
Psychosocial factors included social resources (social integration and emotional support), psychological resources (perceived control, self-esteem, sense of coherence, and trust), and psychological risk factors (cynicism, vital exhaustion, hopelessness, and depressiveness).
Traits such as high levels of novelty-seeking, impulsivity, neuroticism, and harm avoidance (the need to escape from distressing stimuli) often constitute risk factors for addiction.
The risk taker
The thrill-seeker is one of the personality traits of people most likely to suffer from addiction. These people often indulge in impulsive behavior and exhibit little control when experimenting with dangerous activities. This makes them more likely to use drugs.
The three major elements of addictive thinking: denial, rationalization, and projection must be dealt with at every stage of addiction.
There are two broad types of addiction. These are substance addiction and process addiction, also known as behavioral addiction.
The psychoanalytic model of addiction involves conflict, unresolved trauma, and the ego as underlying causes of addiction. Conflict can occur within the mind and one way to resolve these conflicts and the associated feelings of rage, fear, or anxiety is to use alcohol or drugs.
The personality profile of high neuroticism, low agreeableness, and low conscientiousness was associated with all four addictive disorders.
Studies have shown that both introverted judging and perceiving types are prone to negative feelings about themselves and more likely to suffer from addiction.
Studies have identified many factors that increase the risk for substance use such as experimental curiosity, peer and family influence, lack of parental supervision and personality problems.
Substance use disorder is caused by multiple factors, including genetic vulnerability, environmental stressors, social pressures, individual personality characteristics, and psychiatric problems. But which of these factors has the biggest influence in any one person cannot be determined in all cases.
The four C's of addiction are a helpful tool in distinguishing between addiction as a mental health disorder demanding treatment and other types of addictive behaviors. The four C's are compulsion, cravings, consequences, and control.