Risk Behavior and Addiction in Adolescence – HC 1
Risk behavior = behaviors that pose a risk to a healthy physical, cognitive, psychosocial
development of adolescents
- Substance use (e.g., smoking/vaping, alcohol use, cannabis use, use of XTC and other
party/designer drugs)
- Other risk behaviors (e.g., (online) gambling, gaming, social media use)
The general developmental proces of addiction:
Contact with a substance (curiosity, social influence or cultural and familial exposure) ->
Experimenting with a substance -> Integrated use (regular, functional use or normalization) -
> Excessive use (25 cigarettes or more than 10 drinks – high frequency and quantity and loss
of control) -> Addicted use
What we tend to regard as ‘risk behavior’ depends on:
- Characteristics of the particular substance or behavior
For instance, smoking/vaping versus gaming
- Cultural and societal norms:
Example: alcohol use in western versus Islamic cultures
- Scientific knowledge:
Example: knowledge on the risks of alcohol use for the cognitive development of
adolescents
Predictors of (change in) Risk Behavior (COM-B model, Michie et al., 2011):
The Behavior Change Wheel:
,Which (neurological) developments take place during adolescence?
Adolescence (+10 – 24 years)
• Early adolescence (aged 10 – 14): physical growth, sexual maturation, psychosocial
development, social identity formation, they develop a stable view of themselves for others.
• * Hier speelt gender een grote rol aangezien meisjes ongeveer 2,5 jaar ouder zijn
mentaal dan jongens. Dit wordt weer rechtgetrokken rond 14 jaar.
• Mid adolescence (aged 15 – 17): experimenting with (risk) behaviors, personal identity
formation
• Late adolescence (aged 18 – 24): practicing adult roles
Neurological development during adolescence;
1. Strong growth in brain volume: increase in white matter (connections which improves
the speed of communication between brain areas) but decrease in grey matter
(cortex - nerve cells, muscle control, sensory perception and decision making.)
• Loss of grey matter among girls and boys by age
The decrease for the grey matter is more rapidly for girls than for boys.
Pruning: if you don’t use it, you lose it during adolescence (grey matter)
2. Increase in white matter: communication between brain regions strongly improves
• Long term memory increases
• Capacity for abstract (critical) thinking and metacognition increases
3. High plasticity and flexibility of the brain
➔ Betekent dat ze in staat zijn om zich aan te passen en te veranderen op basis van
ervaringen en omgevingsinvloeden. Dit is gunstig voor leren en het verwerven van
nieuwe vaardigheden, maar het maakt de hersenen ook gevoeliger voor
negatieve invloeden.
Why is there a peak in risk behaviors during adolescence?
The speed of the development of two different brain regions differs
,- The affective-motivational system (emotional brain) develops fast
- The control system (rational brain) develops slowly
-> See article by Gladwin et al. (2011) for more details
Affective-motivational system (emotional brain)
- The affective-motivational system (‘reward center’) is overactive during early and
mid-adolescence
- Adolescents experience stronger positive emotions than adults when they receive or
anticipate a reward
- This process is enhanced by testosterone
Control system (rational brain)
- The rational brain develops slowly (until about 25 years)
- The rational brain plays an important role in the development of executive functions:
• Risk estimation
• Monitoring long-term goals
• Inhibit the tendency to respond to (short-term) possibilities for reward (impulse
control, behavioral inhibition, self-control)
The Maturational Imbalance Model (Casey et al., 2011):
Increased risk-taking during adolescence is a result of an imbalance between reward
sensitivity (the affective motivational system) and impulse control (control system).
Because the impulse control is not that developed currently.
, What are psycho-active substances (drugs)?
How can we define drugs or psychoactive substances?
Psychoactive substances are chemical substances that cross the blood-brain barrier and
affect the function of the central nervous system thereby altering perception, mood, or
consciousness (e.g., high/ euphoria, relaxation)
Other characteristics of psychoactive substances:
- They often induce craving after (regular) use (= really wanting to use something)
- They often evoke loss of control after they have been used (regularly)
Psychoactive substances differ in:
- Type and strength of the psychoactive effect
- The degree to which they elicit craving and loss of control.
For which substance is the risk highest to develop addiction after one has used the substance?
- Nicotine
Risk behavior = behaviors that pose a risk to a healthy physical, cognitive, psychosocial
development of adolescents
- Substance use (e.g., smoking/vaping, alcohol use, cannabis use, use of XTC and other
party/designer drugs)
- Other risk behaviors (e.g., (online) gambling, gaming, social media use)
The general developmental proces of addiction:
Contact with a substance (curiosity, social influence or cultural and familial exposure) ->
Experimenting with a substance -> Integrated use (regular, functional use or normalization) -
> Excessive use (25 cigarettes or more than 10 drinks – high frequency and quantity and loss
of control) -> Addicted use
What we tend to regard as ‘risk behavior’ depends on:
- Characteristics of the particular substance or behavior
For instance, smoking/vaping versus gaming
- Cultural and societal norms:
Example: alcohol use in western versus Islamic cultures
- Scientific knowledge:
Example: knowledge on the risks of alcohol use for the cognitive development of
adolescents
Predictors of (change in) Risk Behavior (COM-B model, Michie et al., 2011):
The Behavior Change Wheel:
,Which (neurological) developments take place during adolescence?
Adolescence (+10 – 24 years)
• Early adolescence (aged 10 – 14): physical growth, sexual maturation, psychosocial
development, social identity formation, they develop a stable view of themselves for others.
• * Hier speelt gender een grote rol aangezien meisjes ongeveer 2,5 jaar ouder zijn
mentaal dan jongens. Dit wordt weer rechtgetrokken rond 14 jaar.
• Mid adolescence (aged 15 – 17): experimenting with (risk) behaviors, personal identity
formation
• Late adolescence (aged 18 – 24): practicing adult roles
Neurological development during adolescence;
1. Strong growth in brain volume: increase in white matter (connections which improves
the speed of communication between brain areas) but decrease in grey matter
(cortex - nerve cells, muscle control, sensory perception and decision making.)
• Loss of grey matter among girls and boys by age
The decrease for the grey matter is more rapidly for girls than for boys.
Pruning: if you don’t use it, you lose it during adolescence (grey matter)
2. Increase in white matter: communication between brain regions strongly improves
• Long term memory increases
• Capacity for abstract (critical) thinking and metacognition increases
3. High plasticity and flexibility of the brain
➔ Betekent dat ze in staat zijn om zich aan te passen en te veranderen op basis van
ervaringen en omgevingsinvloeden. Dit is gunstig voor leren en het verwerven van
nieuwe vaardigheden, maar het maakt de hersenen ook gevoeliger voor
negatieve invloeden.
Why is there a peak in risk behaviors during adolescence?
The speed of the development of two different brain regions differs
,- The affective-motivational system (emotional brain) develops fast
- The control system (rational brain) develops slowly
-> See article by Gladwin et al. (2011) for more details
Affective-motivational system (emotional brain)
- The affective-motivational system (‘reward center’) is overactive during early and
mid-adolescence
- Adolescents experience stronger positive emotions than adults when they receive or
anticipate a reward
- This process is enhanced by testosterone
Control system (rational brain)
- The rational brain develops slowly (until about 25 years)
- The rational brain plays an important role in the development of executive functions:
• Risk estimation
• Monitoring long-term goals
• Inhibit the tendency to respond to (short-term) possibilities for reward (impulse
control, behavioral inhibition, self-control)
The Maturational Imbalance Model (Casey et al., 2011):
Increased risk-taking during adolescence is a result of an imbalance between reward
sensitivity (the affective motivational system) and impulse control (control system).
Because the impulse control is not that developed currently.
, What are psycho-active substances (drugs)?
How can we define drugs or psychoactive substances?
Psychoactive substances are chemical substances that cross the blood-brain barrier and
affect the function of the central nervous system thereby altering perception, mood, or
consciousness (e.g., high/ euphoria, relaxation)
Other characteristics of psychoactive substances:
- They often induce craving after (regular) use (= really wanting to use something)
- They often evoke loss of control after they have been used (regularly)
Psychoactive substances differ in:
- Type and strength of the psychoactive effect
- The degree to which they elicit craving and loss of control.
For which substance is the risk highest to develop addiction after one has used the substance?
- Nicotine
