This kind of “neuro-essentialism” (Racine, Bar-Ilan, and Illes 2005) may bring about unintentional consequences on a person’s sense of identity, responsibility, notions of agency and autonomy, illness, and treatment preference. As we wrap up our exploration of the biopsychosocial model of addiction, it’s clear that this approach has revolutionized our understanding and treatment of substance use disorders. By considering the complex interplay of biological, psychological, and social factors, we can develop more effective, personalized interventions.
2 Theories of Substance Use / Addiction
The term “psychology” refers to a behavioural process that relates to motivation, emotions, mood, or the mind. Informed by science, many psychological models, govern our understanding of addiction. When we look at classical and operant conditioning to social learning theory, the transtheoretical model and the behavioural perspective we can see how the psychological dimension strongly affects addiction. All these areas contribute to the Psychological Dimension and what motivates the reward system. Advances in addiction research are increasingly being applied to gain deeper knowledge about the impact of drug use on brain structure and functioning, capacity, autonomy, free choice and decision-making, behaviour, treatment, and symptom reduction. While research of this kind raises important issues about identity, and notions of health and illness, the outcomes have implications for drug policy, health care systems and delivery, and treatment for substance use problems.
The Birth of a Revolutionary Model
Addressing the opioid crisis from all perspectives discussed herein should be considered a public health priority. The biological theory of the opioid crisis may help inform future pharmacological interventions targeting key neurohormonal and/or microbial systems. An in-depth understanding of the neuroscience of addiction can also improve behavioral interventions targeting the cognitive aspects of relapse and recovery. Given our limited understanding of the biological underpinnings of OUD, one could assume that if society increased its levels of stress and depression, the epidemic could worsen due to more triggers for relapse (78). The biological theory of OUD opens possibilities for multiple interventions at the physiological level. Emerging data suggests that nutrition may be a useful adjunct for biological (169) as well as social (170) intervention.
These distorted beliefs can perpetuate addictive behaviors by justifying continued use or creating a sense of helplessness in the face of attempts to quit (Rezaeisharif et al., 2021). It’s like using a sledgehammer to swat a fly – it might work in the short term, but it’s going to cause a lot of damage in the process. Mental health disorders and addiction often go hand in hand, like peanut butter and jelly – except far less delicious and far more destructive. Depression, anxiety, PTSD – these conditions can both contribute to and be exacerbated by addiction. There is no single statistic as to what the most common causes of addiction are.
Links to NCBI Databases
- This attribution could sway those who assign the cause of their addiction to be exclusively neurological or genetically based, and not necessarily evaluate the risks and benefits of pharmacotherapy, psychotherapy, or receiving both as combination.
- While making a decision is itself a mental act, a mental act or event does not cause behaviour alone, but is one part of the complex process between neuronal firing and action.
- Studies have shown that self-blame in drug addicts is predictive of mental health levels 84.
- The complex behaviour contributes both positive and negative feedback, and thus affects how the complex behaviour emerges.
- Nutrition does not easily lend itself to randomized controlled trials given the amount of time needed for measurable outcomes, and the presence of confounders introduced during this period.
Given the significant associations with childhood abuse and prescription opioid use, several authors have identified child maltreatment as an important social and environmental factor (path B) which should be considered in prevention and intervention efforts amidst the crisis (74, 75). Some authors have suggested that resources should be invested into policies and programs that prevent ACEs as a mechanism to reduce substance misuse (76). Overall, the findings underscore the importance of OUD treatment being guided by trauma-informed modalities, including “complex trauma” (different from PTSD) (77).
Eating Behavior
Genetics play a significant role, with family history increasing a person’s vulnerability. Mental health conditions like depression or anxiety can also make someone more susceptible to seeking relief through addictive behaviors. These individuals may experience constant hyperarousal, hypervigilance, anxiety, and abuse drugs may be an effective way to regulate these emotional experiences (Felitti et al., 1998). Thus, numerous psychological factors and experiences can increase the risk of changing how one feels (or regulating emotions) via drugs of abuse.
Data Availability
- In future cross-cultural research, it is recommended to use a multi-stage stratified random sampling method.
- This model focuses on how individuals handle emotions, particularly negative emotions.
- First, the percentage of participants in each category should be kept approximately the same to reduce the error caused by demographic variables and enhance the comparability between groups.
- Integrating these insights with the biopsychosocial model can lead to even more nuanced and effective treatments.
- In summary, although self-acceptance has been found to be a protective factor for mental health 10,11,12, 23, 24, few scholars at both domestic and international level have investigated the relationship between self-acceptance and subthreshold depression among drug addicts.
The results of the study showed that drug addicts’ self-acceptance could be categorized into five potential categories. Most drug addicts’ self-acceptance levels were at a low to moderate level, which is consistent with the findings of previous studies 45. Tajfel’s social homogeneity theory states that dividing people into two groups can lead to intergroup discrimination and competition 46. Drug addicts may be socially marginalized due to past drug use, leading to self-stigma, reduced self-acceptance, and negative emotions.
Cognitive Factors
When neurogenetic attributions are presented in the clinic, pharmacological treatments are often believed to be a more effective option over psychotherapy (Phelan, Yang, and Cruz-Rojas 2006). This attribution could sway those who assign the cause of their addiction to be exclusively neurological or genetically based, and not necessarily evaluate the risks and benefits of pharmacotherapy, psychotherapy, or receiving both as combination. These causal neurogenetic attributions have led some authors to advocate for involuntary treatment in addiction, arguing that, paradoxically, autonomy https://yourhealthmagazine.net/article/addiction/sober-houses-rules-that-you-should-follow/ must be denied, “in order to create it” (Caplan 2008). Every learned action, whether pro-social or anti-social, may be prompted by social conditions such as a lack of resources, conflict, social norms, peer pressure, an underlying drive (e.g., hunger, sex, craving), or a combination of these factors (Bunge 1997). Addiction-related behaviours affect the health of both individuals and communities, either protectively or harmfully. The behaviours influence the extent an individual is able to mobilize and access resources to achieve goals and adapt to adverse situations (Raphael 2004).
- This is because, as the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) shows, addiction is a complicated puzzle.
- ACEs have been linked to age of opioid initiation, intravenous use of the drug, and lifetime overdose in a graded, dose-response manner (73).
- As we continue to explore and refine our understanding of addiction through various Theories of Addiction, the biopsychosocial model stands as a testament to the power of integrative, holistic thinking.
- While dopamine plays a central role in addiction, other brain chemicals are also involved.
- It views people who use substances as having a choice to use substances and judges them for using the substances.
Importance in Addiction Treatment
Following the recommendation of Podsakoff 43, a one-way factor analysis based on Harman showed that there were 12 factors with eigenroots greater than 1, and the maximum factor variance explained was 16.98% (less than 40%), so there was no serious common method bias in this study. All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. The protocol of this study was approved by the institutional review board of the School of Basic Medicine, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Informed consent was obtained from all participants after Sober House Rules: What You Should Know Before Moving In a detailed explanation of the study objectives. You will hear about the importance of spirituality to people, whether it is religious or non-religious. It is very important to be respectful around all spiritual dimensions as it is very important to people.