Impact of Behavioral Addictions on Quality of Life: Universal and Behavior-Specific Consequences SpringerLink

Given the emphasis on mental health and cognitive processes within the Psychological Model, treatment approaches informed by this model often involve various forms of psychotherapy. The goal of these therapies is to address the underlying emotional and cognitive factors that contribute to addiction, as well as to develop healthier coping strategies and more adaptive beliefs and thought patterns. A comprehensive understanding of these models will help to shed light on the multiple factors that contribute to the development and maintenance of addiction, ultimately supporting more effective and evidence-based approaches to treatment and recovery. The key added value of the BPSM, in contrast with BMM, is that it accommodates personal, interpersonal, and institutional factors in clinical care within the causal systems affecting health and disease. There is the further important point that the increasing voice of the person as patient has been substantially a consequence of activism and wider socio-political movements, not a matter of healthcare theory and research (Brown, 1981; Rashed, 2019).

Many pieces, including cultural norms, social circles, situations, personality, biology, and even beliefs, fit together. This leads us to the brain’s reward system, a sort of internal “like” button that gets stuck on repeat in addiction. It’s as if your brain has discovered the world’s best cat video and can’t stop hitting replay, even when the rest of your life is falling apart. Neurotransmitters – those chemical messengers that zip around our noggins, influencing everything from mood to memory. These focus on the physical aspects of dependence, exploring how our bodies and brains can betray us into the clutches of addiction.

• By addressing these factors through community-based interventions and public health policies, we can create more supportive environments that promote healthy behaviors and reduce the risk of addiction.
• Once an intention has been formed for example, to use substances one is aware of the intention, though intention itself does not sufficiently cause the individual to seek out or use drugs.
• As a rule, mental health workers are familiar with an integrative understanding of addiction, and would not recommend a treatment intervention based on biological information alone.
• Think of it as having a family history of bad dance moves – you’re not guaranteed to embarrass yourself on the dance floor, but you might want to be extra careful at weddings.
• They are vital tools in our ongoing battle against substance abuse and compulsive behaviors.

Heroin-Assisted Treatment: An Applied Case Example

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. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs suggests drug addicts may lack belonging, love, respect, and self-actualization during rehabilitation. This experience of social rejection and lack of belonging and respect can lower their level of self-acceptance.

• This type of ‘reduction’ is different from theory-reduction of, for example, biology to physics and chemistry.
• The findings that are anomalous for the BMM but consistent with the BPSM are empirical data, related to specific influences on specific conditions at specific stages.
• As you have come to understand, to look at substance use disorders in a binary fashion, choosing one lens or another is not effective.
• Lately, this model has received persuasive criticism that has caused a fading of its scientific reliability.

Neuroethics and the Brain Disease Model

Such an approach has its historic justification and has proved effective in the control of massive infectious diseases. However, now that chronic non-infectious diseases prevail, its efficacy has not only become questionable, but also the issue has been raised of its economic justification. Families also play a critical role in the recovery process (Onyenwe & Odilbe, 2024). Family-based therapy, such as multidimensional family therapy (MDFT), has been shown to be effective in treating adolescent substance use disorders by addressing communication patterns, family roles, and relational dynamics that contribute to addiction (Liddle et al., 2023). 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).

Why Authenticity Unlocks True Recovery

Samuel Guze’s highly influential paper over 30 years ago, ‘Biological psychiatry – is there any other kind? ’ (Guze, 1989) is an example, as indicated by the rhetorical nature of the title question. More recently, Peter White and colleagues proposed that mental disorders are brain disorders, without for a moment being unaware of the research showing the influence of psychosocial factors in the onset and course of many psychiatric conditions (White, Rickards, & Zeman, 2012). Likewise National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH’s) Research Domains Criteria framework, which regards psychiatric conditions as disorders of brain circuitry (Insel et al., 2010).

Using all these theories may help you understand the complexity of substance use and why one theory/lens is generally not enough. A biopsychosocial systems approach does not portray people as only controlled by the state of their brains. Addictive behaviours are neither viewed as controlled or uncontrolled but as difficult to control a matter of degree. Further, the clinically observed defining feature of addiction a loss of control is understood as a socially normative notion.

Investigating psychological and social impacts on health

It is important to acknowledge that no single model can fully explain or address all aspects of addiction, as each individual’s experience of addiction is unique and shaped by various biological, psychological, social, and spiritual factors. Therefore, a comprehensive and integrative approach to understanding and treating addiction is essential in order to effectively support individuals on their path to recovery. By considering the multiple dimensions of addiction and adopting a holistic perspective, we can better address the complex challenges posed by this pervasive and devastating disorder and promote the well-being of individuals, families, and communities affected by addiction. Understanding the various models of addiction is crucial in order to comprehensively address the complex and multifaceted nature of this disorder.

• A systems approach addresses the complexity of addiction and approaches free choice and moral responsibility within the biological, lived experience and socio-historical context of the individual.
• We conclude with a discussion of the model and its implications for drug policy, research, addiction health care systems and delivery, and treatment of substance use problems.
• It’s not a guarantee, mind you – having these genes doesn’t mean you’re destined for addiction any more than having genes for musical talent means you’ll be the next Mozart.
• It challenges us to look beyond simple explanations and quick fixes, encouraging a more nuanced, comprehensive approach to one of the most pressing health issues of our time.
• The biopsychosocial model of addiction (Figure 1) posits that intersecting biological, psycho-social and systemic properties are fundamental features of health and illness.
• 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).

To sum up, the cognitive revolution in psychology endorsed the relevance of mind to science by constructing causal explanatory models of behavior in terms of mental (or cognitive-affective) states. Within that overall framework, diverse psychology specialty areas focused on personal processes – beliefs, about the world and their own agency, personal goals, emotions, and behavior – in interaction with biological and social processes. These developments in psychology have wide implications and they surface again when considering biopsychosocial models, such as of impacts of social disadvantages on health, and of pain and service use, considered in Part 2, and models of clinical care, in Part 3. When we see substance use disorders/addictions in a binary fashion, we are choosing one lens or another, which does not give https://northiowatoday.com/2025/01/27/sober-house-rules-what-you-should-know-before-moving-in/ us a clear picture of the person. You can further explore poverty, race, gender, and other examples of intersectionality that may play a role in a person’s substance use/addiction as you are working with them, ensuring your work is cultural, spiritual, gender-sensitive and trauma-informed.

Robert K. Merton observed that, “In the modern world, the visibly practical accomplishments of a science largely affect the social value placed upon it” (Merton 1961, 697). Media headlines such as “Brain’s Addiction Centre Found” (BBC 2007) speak to the power of neuroscience and its ability to construct images of the brain, such that it has become easy to defer to its account of the complex phenomena that constitute addiction. Neuroethics challenges arise when knowledge exclusively from neuroscience is deemed adequate to obtain a full understanding of a mental health disorder as complex as addiction. While the practicality of biopsychosocial systems model may allow for a more integrative explanation for addiction, it does not explain addiction entirely. Indeed, there is no single theory or approach that can offer a complete explanation for the existence of any social problem (Merton 1961).

Importance in Addiction Treatment

Accordingly, this cybernetic brain-environment interaction may trigger strong somatic signals such as desire, urge and anticipation (Verdejo-Garcia and Bechara 2009). In effect, this process may limit autonomy as it allows for “preference reversals” (Levy 2007a) to occur in situations where an individual would rather not use. Recent advances in neuroscience provide compelling evidence to support a medical perspective of problematic substance use and addiction (Dackis and O’Brien 2005). Despite these developments, the science is still in its early stages, and theories about how addiction emerges are neither universally accepted nor completely understood. Current ethical and legal debates in addiction draw upon new knowledge about the biological and neurological modification of the brain (Ashcroft, Campbell, and Capps 2007).

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 Sober House Rules: What You Should Know Before Moving In morphine-induced reward (Xu, Hou, Gao, He, and Zhang 2007). Accordingly, the social environment can increase the frequency of cravings, which may contribute to increased drug consumption, and thus increase the probability that affected individuals will participate in a series of habituated behaviours that facilitate using (Levy 2007b). 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.

Guiding an individual’s behaviour are brain processes, somatic mechanisms, the ethical rules and norms that govern society, and the nature of the interaction. The complex combination of biological, psycho-social and systemic factors may explain why it is so difficult for some individuals to refuse drugs in the face of increasingly negative consequences. An underlying feature of these interacting systems is the human subjective experience of free voluntary actions, which problematizes laws within the natural world that every event has a cause with causally sufficient explanations. The biopsychosocial model emphasizes the interaction of biological, psychological, and social factors.