Characteristics of Addiction (AQA GCSE Psychology)

Addiction is a term that is not always used accurately in common parlance, for example:

• ‘I’m so addicted to chocolate’

• ‘Without Love Island in my life I don’t know what I’d do’

• ‘I am absolutely hooked on this new lip gloss, it’s addictive’

Addiction is the physical and/or psychological need to engage in addictive behaviour e.g. drug-taking, drinking alcohol, gambling, shopping

Physical addiction is the physiological state of adaptation to the addictive behaviour, resulting in tolerance i.e. the more a person becomes addicted, the higher ‘dose’ of the addictive behaviour they need to get the same effect 

Addiction can be seen in the craving for the addictive behaviour

When the addictive behaviour ceases (e.g. the time between drug-taking episodes) this produces withdrawal which could include:

• experiencing tremors/shakes

• sweating

• obsessive thoughts about the addictive behaviour

• headaches

• anxiety, irritability, mood swings

Dependence is the ‘gateway’ to addiction as it can be seen in the compulsion to experience the addictive behaviour for its pleasurable effect, rather than for its stated effect, for example:

• Someone needs new clothes for work but the pleasure they experience from shopping becomes all-consuming, meaning that the original intention to shop for a purpose is lost to the general ‘thrill’ of shopping itself

• Someone needs pain medication for a bad back but once their back is better they continue to take the medication for the ‘high’ it gives them

Physical and psychological dependence overlap, with key behaviours being over-doing the behaviour, engaging in the behaviour even when the person knows that it is bad for them, problems maintaining everyday activities and the inability to stop the behaviour

Substance misuse refers to a drug being used for purposes not originally intended by the drug manufacturer or the prescribing doctor

Some examples of substance misuse include:

• Taking more of the substance than the recommended dose e.g. 40mg instead of 20mg of an antidepressant

• Taking someone else’s medication or a substance that has not been prescribed for you

• Taking a substance for purposes other than the intended use e.g. ADHD medication to stay awake for a gaming session

• Leaving longer or shorter gaps between doses than the guidelines recommend

Substance misuse becomes substance abuse when the user takes the substance in order to get a ‘hit’ from it i.e. feeling ‘high’

Some examples of substance abuse include:

• Drinking alcohol excessively to cope with grief

• Taking sedatives to escape from trauma

• Smoking nicotine or marijuana to deal with stress

Substance abuse can be thought of as ‘self-medicating’ as it involves an individual ‘prescribing’ their own way of dealing with physical and/or psychological problems

The aim of self-medication is for the individual to feel better and to experience relief from the situation/stressor