And I woke up late in the morning and the clinic was about to close and I’m like, crap, I’m not going to get my medicine. And then my accident was severe and my redacted was fractured in multiple places. So I was instantly put into the hospital and put on heavy narcotics again” (P11; -). Researchers have Sober House Rules: A Comprehensive Overview found that much of addiction’s power lies in its ability to hijack and even destroy key brain regions that are meant to help us survive. Culture is different for everyone, even if they were brought up in the same environment.
Community and Socioeconomic Factors
White (1996) notes that as a person progresses from experimentation to abuse and/or dependence, he or she develops a more intense need to “seek for supports to sustain the drug relationship” (p. 9). In addition to gaining social sanction for their substance use, participants in the drug culture learn many skills that can help them avoid the pitfalls of the substance-abusing lifestyle and thus continue their use. They learn how to avoid arrest, how to get money to support their habit, and how to find a new supplier when necessary. When people with substance use disorders experience discrimination, they are likely to delay entering treatment and can have less positive treatment outcomes (Fortney et al. 2004; Link et al. 1997; Semple et al. 2005). Discrimination can also increase denial and step up the individual’s attempts to hide substance use (Mateu-Gelabert et al. 2005).
Methadone Treatment for Opioid Addiction: Effectiveness, Risks, and Recovery
It is very important to be respectful around all spiritual dimensions as it is very important to people. Think of it as the therapeutic imagination of what spirituality means to the individual and show respect to each person, so that they can have the freedom to find, explore, revisit or discover their own beliefs. It is important not to look at the biological dimension as neurobiology alone, but to also take into consideration aspects of health functioning such as addictive behaviour, diet, exercise, self-care, nutrition, sleep and genetics. Overcome addiction with our family support system, and regain control of your life! This model focuses on how individuals handle emotions, particularly negative emotions.
Putting Theory into Practice: Applications of the Biopsychosocial Model in Addiction Treatment
It bridges the gap between the brain and behavior, specifically focusing on how substance use affects brain function and how those changes contribute to addiction. Many individuals struggling with addiction have a history of trauma or adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), such as physical or emotional abuse, neglect, or the loss of a loved one (Hays-Grudo et al., 2021). These experiences can create deep psychological wounds that make it difficult for individuals to manage stress and regulate their emotions. Reflecting on these concerns, the authors stated “we had to be clear in our ethics applications and in our informed consent process with participants that HAT will not be available outside the context of the study” (p. 267). Although a full discussion is warranted pertaining to these challenges, these ethical concerns raised by Oviedo-Joekes et al. (2009) resonate with our present discussion. Rates of substance use and dependence vary across, and even within, cultural and social groups (Wallace 1999; Wallace, Bachman, O’Malley et al. 2002).
The Intricate Dance: Interactions Between Biological, Psychological, and Social Factors
- As Hyman (2007) has written, “neuroscience does not obviate the need for social and psychological level explanations intervening between the levels of cells, synapses, and circuits and that of ethical judgments” (p.8).
- They’ve shown that addiction is a long-lasting and complex brain disease, and that current treatments can help people control their addictions.
- Treatment and recovery approaches based on the Moral Model alone may be inadequate, as they do not address the multitude of factors contributing to addiction.
- This can include exposure to substance-using peers, living in communities with high rates of substance use or easy access to drugs, or experiencing social stressors such as poverty, discrimination, or social isolation.
- Through involvement in the drug culture, he was able to gain a measure of self-esteem, change his family dynamic, explore his sexuality, develop lasting friendships, and find a career path (albeit a criminal one).
For this individual, who had so much of his life invested in the drug culture, it was as difficult to conceive of leaving that culture as it was to conceive of stopping his substance use. Stephens (1991) uses examples from a number of ethnographic studies to show how people can be as taken by the excitement of the drug culture as they are by the drug itself. Media portrayals, along with singer or music group autobiographies, that glamorize the drug lifestyle may increase its lure (Manning 2007; Oksanen 2012).
Many subcultures are neither harmful nor antisocial, but their focus is on the substance(s) of abuse, not on the people who participate in the culture or their well-being. In terms of cognitive processes, research has shown that individuals with addiction often exhibit distorted thinking patterns, such as denial, rationalization, and minimization of their substance use or addictive behaviors. These cognitive distortions can serve to maintain addiction by justifying continued substance use or impeding the individual’s ability to recognize the negative consequences of their behavior. Our addiction treatment centers in West Palm Beach, Florida offer comprehensive programs that address the physical, psychological, and social factors of addiction using the biopsychosocial model, personality theories and neuropsychology.
The environment in which a person lives plays a crucial role in shaping their risk for addiction. Factors such as socioeconomic status, availability of substances, and exposure to peer groups that normalize substance use can increase vulnerability (Onyenwe & Odilibe, 2024). Adolescents and young adults, in particular, are highly susceptible to peer influence. Being surrounded by friends or family members who engage in substance use can increase the likelihood of initiating and maintaining addictive behaviors. The biopsychosocial model didn’t spring forth fully formed like Athena from Zeus’s head. Rather, it evolved gradually as researchers and clinicians grappled with the limitations of earlier, more narrow approaches.
What are the Models of Addiction?
Chronic drug use can disrupt these systems, leading to intense cravings and difficulty resisting them. Personality theories suggest certain personality traits, like impulsivity or risk-taking, can make someone more prone to addiction. These traits might lead them to experiment with addictive substances or behaviors more readily.
This narrow perspective can lead to victim-blaming and perpetuate the stigmatization of individuals with addiction, creating barriers to accessing appropriate treatment and support. The biopsychosocial model of addiction (Figure 1) posits that intersecting biological, psycho-social and systemic properties are fundamental features of health and illness. The model includes the way in which macro factors inform and shape micro systems and brings biological, psychological and social levels into active interaction with one another. The contemporary model, adapted for addiction, reflects an interactive dynamic for understanding substance use problems specifically and addressing the complexity of addiction-related issues. The empirical foundation of this model is thus interdisciplinary, and both descriptive and applied. The biopsychosocial model of addiction emphasizes the interplay of biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors in the understanding, prevention, and treatment of substance use disorders.
One example is drug craving that may be experienced as strong, intense urges for immediate gratification that may impair rational thought about future planning (Elster and Skog 1999). Factors such as drug availability within the environment can increase craving and consequently the vulnerability for relapse (Weiss 2005). Recent research has suggested that enriched environments produce long-term neural modifications that decrease neural sensitivity to morphine-induced reward (Xu, Hou, Gao, He, and Zhang 2007).