5. adolescentii Flashcards
(39 cards)
when does substance use being
substance use often begins during adolescence
individuals who being using at younger ages are at increased risk of developing a substance abuse disorder
early onset usage associated with a host of other individual and social negative consequences
what is the age at first use
for nicotine, alcholo and illicit drugs, 15-17 is mainly the age of first use
what is the heavy use of alcohol and cannabis associated with
poor outcomes at school/work - as it interfers with memory, attention and motivation
heightened risk of premature death due to liver disease (alcohol) or respiratory provlems (cannabis smoking)
risk for other forms of psychopathology - depression and anxiety, sz especially with cananbis use
impaired cognitive functioning
why is adolescent research important
adolescent seen as an at-risk population for substance use
risk factors can be assessed before and after substance use initiation
helps to establish causal pathways
this can inform prevention and intervention
why is the adolescent brain more at risk
significant developmental changes across this period
structural :
- grey matter decreases (synaptic pruning) - eliminating weak connections to improve brains efficiency
- white matter increases (myelination)
functional :
- remodeling of dopamine system - adolescent become more sensitive to rewards, novelty due to heightened dopamine activity which can drive risky beh
- increased projections to frontal areas - prefrontal cortex is the last brain area to fully develop which explains why adolescents may still struggle with impulsivity and long-term planning
what is the role of dopamine in subcrotical regions
subcrotical regions, such as the nucelus accumbens, experience a surge in dopaminergic activity during adolescence, increasing sensitivity to rewards and risk-taking
how are teens during adolescence
heightened reward sensitivity - the early development of the subcrotical reward system, particularly the nucleus accumebens, increases adolescents responsiveness to rewards they prioritise short term gratification over long term consequences
impulsive actions - relies on the prefrontal cortex which matures later than subcortical systems
heightened emotional reactivity - the amygdala, a subcortical region involved in processing emotions like fear, is highly active during adolescence
limited regulatory ability - the pre-frontal cortex, which governs self-control, planning and decision making is still undergoing synaptic prunin and myelination - this limits the ability to regulate impulses
what is the dual systems model (Steinberg)
posits that risk-taking is elevated in adolescence because of increased activity in a socio-emotional brain network (amygdala, nucleus accumbens, medial frontal cortex) - this created heightened sensitivity to rewards and emotions
this is ultimately balanced by the later development of a cognitive control network (lateral prefrontal cortex, and anterior cingulate cortex)
what are the disadvantages of the dual systems model
does not account for individual or environemntal factors
doesnt fully explain why some adolescents avoid risk depsiore similar brain development
what is impulsivity as a construct
impulsivity comprises a number of separate but related traits
what are the 2 key multi-trait models
rash impulsiveness / reward sensitivity
UPPS
what is the link between urgency traits and substance use
urgency traits seem to particularly relate to problem levels of substance use
- difficulty controlling actions.
urgency traits, especially negative urgency which refers to acting rashly under distress are linked to impulsivity, where individuals struggle to pause or reflect before acting. this makes teens more prone to immediate gratification or impsulvie behaviour, like substance use - difficulty regulation emotions (emotional dysregulation).
urgency traits also involve diffculty managing emotions like anger. when faced with strong emotions, individuals may seek quick relief, often turning to substances
what are environemntal factors
family
peers
first usage
stress
how do parents influence substance use
children of alcholics 3-5 times more likely to develop alcohol dependence
permissive parental attitudes to alcohol use are strongly related to increases in adolescent usage
what are the statistics on the relationship of family attitude and substance use (NHS, 2010)
when family lets pupil drink as much as they like, 46% of pupils have drank in the last week compared to 17% who have never
when family doesn’t like pupil drinking, 4% of pupils have drank in the last week compared to 85% who have never drunk
what is the rship between parental monitoring and substance use
Lac and Crano conducted a meta analysis on the link between monitoring and cannabis use 35,367 ppts
low monitoring linked with higher usage
overall what is the effect of the familial risk
family factors appear to compromise an indirect risk
their infleunce is often meediated by other variables such as
association with deviant peers
psychopathology
increased stress
what is the role of peers in substance use
moat substance use tends to begin in social context
peers geenrally become more influential in adolescence
association with substance using peers - the strongest environmental predictor of substance use
what are the key processes of peer influence
social facilitation:
- modeling behaviour of peers - bc we look to friends as examples of how to behave
-using drugs to enhance social experience
peer infleunce
- active (peer pressure)
- passive (peer norms)
peer selection
how does risk taking change around peers
adolescents appear to take more risks in the presence of peers
Gardner and Steinberg (2005) examined risk-taking adolescents (13-16), young adults (18-22) and adults (24+)
completed behavioural measure of risk-taking alone or in the presence of 2 similar aged peers
what were the findings
adolescents took more risks in the presence of friends so they had more crashes
how does resistance to peer pressure change throughout the years
resistance increases throughout adolescence, along a similar timetable as general regulatory processes
how does perception of peer use influence substance use
perceived peer norms of substance use predict substance use initiation and increases in use
also predicts problematic alchol use
adolesecents and college students may overestimate the substance use of their peers
what have studies found about peer selection and substance use
longitudinal study on reciprocal effects of selection and substance use
canadian adolescents (143) assessed four times over a school year
measured amount of new friends at each stage, and how many of these smoked, drank, or used cannabis
found that adolescents select new freidns with similar substance use patterns, but that these friends in turn contribute to individual use
