- Factors Affecting Addiction
No two people are exactly the same; as genetics, environmental (internal and external) factors can influence how a person responds to potentially addictive situations. -
- A child born to addict parents, may be born with a genetic predisposition to addictive behaviours. Other factors also have to be taken into account, when attempting to determine whether or not, and to what extent, a child is susceptible to addictive behaviours or substances. e.g. the environment that the child inhabits, especially during their early development, plays a key role in determining how they will react when when confronted with certain behaviours or situations.
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- An adult illustration, could be one of an injured soldier. During war time, he is seriously injured and becomes addicted to morphine. Later, when the war is over, he returns home. Question: How easy would it be for him to stop taking the morphine?
The answers vary, depending upon the soldier’s predisposition or susceptibility to addiction; his home environment, mental state, genetics and other factors. In other words, if for example he came from a family of addicts, socialized with addicts in his neighbourhood and already drinks and smokes regularly, this soldier may have a difficult time withdrawing from morphine. Whereas, a soldier who had never seen addiction up close and is in good mental health, may be able to stop using morphine with little or no effort. This leads to the question, “How can you tell if someone is addicted or not? Addictive Behaviour:
