The Relationship Between Impulsivity And Consumption Behaviors

It is commonly viewed that consumption is a very natural human process, which in fact we humans don’t see as a problem. The reality of consumption is simple; marketing that is leading towards destruction. This whole matter of consumption would not exist if it were not for prestige. With this process of consumption beginning to continue, the human race is becoming closer and closer to non-existence. The human race has just evolved into a world where individuals believe, or pretend, that the Earth's resources are infinite and that they will never be destroyed. That is where they make a vital mistake.

Since the consumption of alcohol is necessary to develop alcoholism, the availability of and attitudes towards alcohol in an individual's environment affect their likelihood of developing the disease.

Addictions are a diverse set of common and complex diseases that are to some extent tied together by shared genetic and environmental factors. Addiction includes alcohol use disorders, cannabis and cocaine use disorders, nicotine dependence, as well as non-substance–related behaviors. Both genetic and environmental variables contribute to the use and abuse of addictive substances, which may eventually lead to addiction.

Alcohol Use Disorder, most commonly known as Alcohol Abuse or Alcohol Dependence, is widely known as problem that occurs with individuals who consumes an enormous amount of alcohol on a regular basis often in a single use. The individual is consumed with the thought of drinking most of the time and often feel as though they need it to continue with living their daily lives, even though, they are not really living at all because the enormous amount of alcohol causes a dysfunction for their daily tasks. It inhibits their ability to take care of their family, have social relationships and performing activities at work. It is believed that genetics can play a massive role towards an individual developing an Alcohol Use Disorder.

Impulsivity is frequently observed in addictive behaviours, particularly in drug abuse (Perry & Carroll,2008), and research shows that drug users are more impulsive than non-drug users (Brady et al.,1998). Alcoholics value more immediate rewards in delay discounting tasks (Petry, 2001), as

• Alcoholism is an addictive disease process characterized by: Craving and compulsions Loss of control Continued use despite adverse consequences

However, Loree et al.,(2015) mentions that impulsivity also negatively influences treatment of substance use disorders. That is to say, the lack of impulsivity regulation not only is a risk factor for substance use disorder, it is also an aspect that inhibits the treatment of an individual with a substance use disorder. Abu-Shakra and Cox (2014), aim to do is say that disinhibited behaviours such as impulsivity not only influences substance abuse but, also disruptive behaviour disorders. The aim of their paper is to suggest that externalized behaviours, also known as disinhibited behaviour traits, influence the progression of disruptive behaviour disorder and substance use

Many current studies are being done on the topic of “addictive personalities. This has been a debatable topic over the years.” In this article, researchers are analyzing the men who had consumed excessive amount of alcohol vs. those in a controlled population. The main objective of this article, is to provide the statistical information, as to rather or not men who consumes alcohol have different personalities to those who are under a controlled population. Questions to be determined are: Do men with excessive alcohol consumption and social stability have an addictive personality versus those who are in a controlled set population? Are there any hidden traits that could cause addictive personalities? Are there any specific personality patterns in those who excessively drink? To evaluate both sets, they were separated into groups or into multidimensional typologies. The males who excessively drink (n=100) and those in a controlled population (n=131). The heavy drinkers were then recruited by advertisement in a regional daily newspaper, while the controlled group was based Swedish Twin Registry. These personalities were then assessed by the Karolinska scales of personalities (KSP). Which were then compared with the normative data. To investigate further, the researchers then used a multivariate projection based approach to look for any hidden structures of traits and any relationships within the groups of heavy drinkers vs. the controlled population to see what would be

Addiction is a multifactorial psychiatric disorder in which twin studies have established a compelling case for a genetic heritability of increased susceptibility in some human hosts more than others . Outside of genetics, addiction is partial to several environmental, behavioral, and developmental risk factors as “neither genetic nor environmental factors act in isolation to increase susceptibility to addiction.” Thus, there does not appear to be any necessary nor sufficient factors that are responsible for the increased likelihood of substance use/abuse and subsequent addiction.

Some factors include social, religious, psychological, genetic characteristics and childhood (B. Sadock, V. Sadock, & Ruiz, 2015). Based on psychological theories, low and high doses of alcohol can have an effect on an individual’s psychological feelings of nervousness which can cause an increase or decrease in tension (B. Sadock, V. Sadock, & Ruiz, 2015). Furthermore, psychodynamic theories demonstrate that most individuals utilize this drug to help them deal with harsh superegos and to decrease unconscious stress levels (B. Sadock, V. Sadock, & Ruiz, 2015). Lastly, behavioral theories demonstrate that the rewarding effects of drinking, attitudes about one’s behavior, and reinforcement after alcohol intake contribute to the decision to continue drink despite problems ((B. Sadock, V. Sadock, & Ruiz, 2015). Based on these ethological theories, individuals with AUD can be exposed to various influences which contribute to the onset of their drinking

The work of behavior analysts has suggested that drug addiction is an operant behavior that is shaped and maintained by interactions with environmental contingencies (Bigelow & Silverman, 1999). As such, alternative non-drug

High relative co-morbidity is observed between alcohol use disorders and Axis I and Axis II psychiatric disorders from the impulse control spectrum; i.e. antisocial personality disorder (Verheul et al). Indeed self-report measures of impulsivity were higher in alcohol dependents with cluster-B personality disorder than in those without personality disorder (Dom et al, 2006). Also, impulsivity was found to be a characteristic of alcohol-dependent men with early onset alcoholism (Type-II) like features, rather than late-onset alcoholism. Dom et al. (2006) suggested further identification of alcoholism subtypes based on dimensions of

It is widely known that there are multiple biological theories and psychological theories of addiction. In this paper, I will select the genetic inheritance theory of biological theories of addiction and the addictive personality theory of psychological theories of addiction to illustrate how both theories are different and similar. In addition, I will discuss if I would use these theories in my future practice.

Novelty seeking and impulsivity personality traits have been linked to higher rates of drug intake and dependency. However, it is not well understood if these personality traits are determinants or consequences of chronic drug abuse (Ersche, Turton, Pradhan et al., 2010). To further examine this question, Erche et al. (2010) investigated sibling pairs and healthy controls and found higher levels of impulsivity traits, not novelty seeking, in both drug dependent individuals and their siblings. These findings indicate that impulsivity can be an underlying heritable predisposing factor in the development of drug abuse and dependency. Previous research has also found individuals high in novelty seeking are at a higher risk for stimulant abuse. Researchers believe this is partly due by the fact that novelty seeking behavior activates the same reward nueral pathways—mesolimbic dopamine system—that reinforces drug abuse behavior (Bardo, Donohew & Harrington, 1996).

After reviewing the results and noting only one sufficient correlation, the discussion regarding intent and future behavior then arises. There are so many negative repercussions that alcohol is associated with so one cannot doubt the need for further research regarding this topic. Researchers have been further examining alcohol usage by utilizing the theory of planned behavior (TPB). The theory of planned behavior further examines behavioral cues and examines one’s perceived behavioral control, intentions, attitudes and subjective norms to try and predict future behavior. (Johnston & White, 2003) The theory of planned behavior applied to the existing correlation between prior belief and social desirability would lead to an effective