Psychological & Social Risk Factors (AQA A-Level Psychology): Revision Notes
Psychological & Social Risk Factors
Addiction develops through the interaction of multiple risk factors rather than a single cause. While genetic vulnerability plays a role, psychological and social factors are equally important in determining who becomes addicted. These can be categorised as internal factors (personality) and external environmental factors (stress, family influences, and peers).
Stress
Definition of Stress
Stress refers to a physiological and psychological state of arousal that occurs when we believe we lack the ability to cope with a perceived threat or stressor.
Childhood trauma and chronic stress create particular vulnerability to addiction later in life. Research shows that early stressful experiences can have lasting effects on brain development during sensitive periods, making individuals more susceptible to addiction during adolescence and young adulthood.
Key Research Finding
Jeffrey Epstein and colleagues (1998) examined data from the National Women's Study and found a strong link between childhood rape and subsequent alcohol addiction. However, this relationship was only evident in women who had also developed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This suggests that traumatic events alone do not inevitably lead to addiction - rather, it requires both the trauma and a vulnerability factor like PTSD.
The timing of stress exposure appears particularly important. Susan Andersen and Martin Teicher (2008) propose that severe stress during critical developmental periods can damage the brain, creating lasting vulnerability that may not manifest until adolescence or early adulthood when individuals encounter substances.
Personality
While there is no single "addictive personality", certain personality traits do increase addiction risk. The strongest correlation exists between addiction-related behaviour and antisocial personality disorder (APD).
Definition of Personality
Personality encompasses patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving that distinguish individuals from one another. These patterns remain relatively consistent across different situations and over time.
APD typically emerges during early adolescence and involves multiple risk factors, with impulsivity being the most significant.
Characteristics of Impulsive Individuals
Impulsive individuals tend to:
- Lack planning abilities
- Engage in high-risk behaviours
- Prefer immediate gratification over delayed rewards
- Lead chaotic lifestyles
Haney and colleagues (2008) conducted a review of research and found strong support for the link between impulsivity and addiction. Some researchers suggest this connection may have a neurological basis or even shared genetic components, which could explain why these traits frequently occur together.
While other personality traits like hostility and neuroticism also correlate with addiction, impulsivity remains the most consistent predictor across different types of addictive behaviours.
Family influences
Definition of Family Influences
Family influences refer to the effects that family members have on our thoughts, feelings and behaviours throughout our development.
Among all family-related risk factors, perceived parental approval emerges as the most reliable predictor of addiction risk. This involves the extent to which adolescents believe their parents have positive attitudes towards potentially addictive behaviours such as gambling or drug use.
Perception vs Reality
The adolescent's perception of parental approval matters more than parents' actual attitudes. When young people believe their parents approve of risky behaviours or show little interest in monitoring their activities, addiction risk increases substantially.
Research Example: Parental Approval and Alcohol Use
Research by Livingston and colleagues (2010) demonstrated this effect with alcohol use. They found that final-year secondary school students whose parents allowed them to drink at home were more likely to drink excessively during their first year of university. The key factor was the students' perception that their parents approved of drinking.
Exposure also plays a role - adolescents are more likely to begin using substances in families where these behaviours are normalised or where there is a family history of addiction. However, the individual's interpretation of their family's attitudes appears to be the stronger predictor.
Peers
Definition of Peers
Peers are people who share similar interests, age, social status and background. Peer relationships become increasingly influential during adolescence as young people spend more time with friends and less time with family.
For older children and adolescents, peer relationships often become the most important psychosocial risk factor, sometimes outweighing even family influences. This occurs even when peers themselves do not use substances directly.
Mary O'Connell and colleagues (2009) identified three main ways peer relationships increase addiction risk:
Three Elements of Peer Influence
- Attitude influence: At-risk adolescents' attitudes and norms about substance use become influenced by associating with peers who use these substances
- Increased opportunities: Experienced peers provide more opportunities for the at-risk individual to experiment with substances
- Norm perception: Individuals tend to overestimate how much their peers are using substances, leading them to increase their own use to match what they perceive as normal behaviour
The creation of group norms that favour rule-breaking appears particularly influential. Peer groups that generally encourage breaking rules create an environment where substance use becomes just one example of acceptable rebellious behaviour.
Evaluation
Interactions between risk factors
No Single Cause
No single risk factor directly causes addiction. Instead, combinations of risk factors determine both the likelihood and severity of addiction development. Linda Mayes and Nancy Suchman (2006) emphasise that different combinations of risk factors partially determine the nature of addiction that develops.
Interestingly, many factors that increase risk can also be protective when present in different forms. For example, strong family relationships and parental monitoring reduce addiction risk, while certain personality traits like lower impulsivity serve as protective factors.
This creates multiple pathways to addiction, making the development of addictive behaviours much more complex than simple cause-and-effect relationships might suggest.
Cause and effect
Correlation vs Causation Problem
Most research into addiction risk factors uses correlational designs, which creates problems in establishing causation. For instance, while studies consistently show correlations between stressful experiences and addiction-related behaviours, addiction itself often creates additional stress through its negative effects on relationships, finances, and lifestyle.
This bidirectional relationship makes it difficult to separate cause from effect. As Michael Vaughn (2013) notes, risk factors are correlates rather than proven causes unless tested through longitudinal research designs.
The case of peer influence illustrates this complexity well. Adolescents already vulnerable to substance use due to other risk factors may be drawn to peer groups that engage in rule-breaking behaviour, making it unclear whether peer influence is a cause or consequence of existing vulnerability.
Proximate and ultimate risk factors
Some risk factors may have genetic underpinnings that create deeper vulnerabilities. For example, Lara Ray and colleagues (2009) found that novelty-seeking behaviour may be associated with genetic markers for the D4 dopamine receptor. Individuals with this genetic variation appear more sensitive to the rewarding effects of dopamine activation caused by substance use.
Understanding Risk Factor Types
This research suggests a distinction between:
- Proximate risk factors (immediate influences like personality traits)
- Ultimate risk factors (underlying genetic predispositions)
Novelty-seeking represents a proximate risk factor, but genetic variation in dopamine sensitivity may be the ultimate cause.
Understanding this chain of influence helps explain why genetic vulnerability may be the most influential risk factor - it potentially shapes all the others. This provides another reason why genetic factors deserve particular attention in addiction research and treatment.
Real-world applications
Identifying and understanding risk factors offers promising strategies for preventing and treating addiction. David Hawkins and colleagues (2012) argue that focusing on risk factors provides opportunities to identify those most at risk in the population.
Prevention programmes can be designed to target specific risk factors. For example, Nancy Tobler and colleagues (2000) developed peer-pressure resistance training programmes to help prevent young people from beginning to smoke.
Benefits of Risk Factor-Based Prevention
The practical benefits of this approach are substantial:
- Prevention costs significantly less than treatment after addiction has developed
- Reduced addiction rates lead to lower crime, better work productivity, and reduced unemployment
- Individual health outcomes improve when addiction is prevented
- Secondary benefits include reduced domestic violence and improved educational achievement
However, successful implementation requires accurate identification of at-risk individuals, making valid risk assessment tools essential for these applications.
Methodological issues
Major Research Limitation: Retrospective Recall
Research into addiction risk factors faces a notable methodological challenge: many studies rely on retrospective recall of past events. Participants must remember incidents of stress, trauma, and family behaviours that may have occurred years earlier.
Retrospective recall can be distorted or inaccurate, particularly when recalling stressful or traumatic events. This creates potential problems because:
- The roles of risk factors may be exaggerated or underestimated
- There is usually no objective record to verify what actually occurred
- The accuracy of recall affects the validity of data on which risk factor assessments are based
This limitation is particularly problematic because it undermines confidence in research findings about which factors truly predict addiction risk.
Key Points to Remember:
- Multiple factors interact: No single risk factor causes addiction - combinations matter more than individual influences
- Timing matters: Early stress during sensitive developmental periods creates lasting vulnerability that may only emerge later
- Perception over reality: How adolescents perceive their family's and peers' attitudes often matters more than actual attitudes
- Impulsivity is key: Among personality factors, impulsivity shows the strongest and most consistent link to addiction risk
- Prevention beats treatment: Identifying and addressing risk factors early is more effective and cost-efficient than treating established addiction