Literature - Risk behaviour and addiction
Course coordinators: Dr. Tobias Stark, Dr. Borja Mar
2008000285, 07/09/2026 - 06/11/2026
Interdisciplinary Social Sciences
By Hasse Meeter
Table of Contents
Lecture 1: An introduction to risk behaviour and the development of substance and
behavioural addictions during adolescence ...................................................................... 2
Sussman (2017).................................................................................................................................2
Gladwin, Crone, Wiers (2011) .............................................................................................................5
Lecture 2: Prevention of risk behaviour and addiction in young people ............................... 7
De Jonge, Troelstra, Van Aerde, Voogt (2024) .......................................................................................7
Onrust, Otten, Lammers, Smit (2016) ............................................................................................... 10
Lecture 3: The role of peers: should peers be considered a risk or protective factor? .........11
Laninga-Wijnen, Veenstra (2021) ...................................................................................................... 11
Laninga-Wijnen, Veenstra (in print) ................................................................................................... 13
Lecture 4: International teen trends in substance use: what’s driving them? .....................14
Ball, Livingston, Grucza, ter Bogt, Currie, de Looze (2023) .................................................................. 14
Lecture 5: The role of parents in the development of risk behaviour and addiction .............15
Koning, Van den Eijnden, Vollebergh (2014) ....................................................................................... 15
Koning, Van Den Eijnden, Visser, Vossen (2024) ................................................................................. 16
Lecture 6: Individual vulnerability to risk behaviour and addiction ....................................17
Castellanos-Ryan, Conrod (2013) ..................................................................................................... 17
Peeters, Prior, Salemink, Sunderland, Stevens, Oldehinkel, Stapinski (2024) ...................................... 18
Trucco, Hartmann (2021) ................................................................................................................. 19
Lecture 7: Neurobiological and behavioural mechanisms of addiction ..............................20
Schellekens (2019) .......................................................................................................................... 20
Lecture 8: Resolving the problem of addiction: Behavioural interventions and clinical
treatment .......................................................................................................................21
Sussman (2017)............................................................................................................................... 21
Michie, Van Stralen, West (2011)....................................................................................................... 23
An overview and summary of all required reading material, formatted by lecture. Notes from lectures are not included.
,Lecture 1: An introduction to risk behaviour and the development of
substance and behavioural addictions during adolescence
Sussman (2017)
Sussman, S. (2017). Chapter 1: A general introduction to the concept of addiction and addictive ePects. In Substance and
Behavioral Addictions: Concepts, Causes, and Cures (pp. 3-31). Cambridge University Press.
• Introduction case study (Johnny): addict, multiple addictions à what is addiction?
• Substance and behavioural addictions
o Substance addiction = repetitive intake of a drug or of food that results in clinically
significant impairment
o Behavioural addiction = engaging in types of behaviours repetitively which are not directly
taken into the body (gambling, sex) that results in clinically significant impairment
o Earlier: addiction = misuse of drugs that led to physiological withdrawal symptoms
(=appearance of both physical and psychological symptoms by physiological adaptations in
the central nervous system and the brain due to chronic exposure to a substance)
§ Addiction often coincides with drugs that cross the blood-brain barrier and drugs
that impact exogenous & endogenous ligand functions (neurotransmitters). With
endogenous ligand functions altered through behavioural addictions,
dopamine/serotonin levels rise during use. However, no direct contact with brain
synapses through exogenous ligands are made (no drug ecect).
§ 12 step organizations for dicerent substance and behavioural addictions target
dysfunctional behaviours
• Focus article: common underlying determinants and observable constituents of addictions. Risk of
pathologizing multiple behaviours comes across as “trivial” à “the concept of addiction may apply
broadly but it is not trivial” à stigma/credibility of scientific institutions
• Evolution of addiction: origin = “giving over”/“highly devoting” to strong, overpowering urges (later:
disease-like connotation) à malfunction of the central nervous system in some way, a “brain
disease” (common features: appetitive ecect, preoccupation, loss of control, etc)
• Addictions
o Tobacco (use of tobacco increased after flue-curing, invented in 1839)
o Alcohol (has been abused for a long amount of time, brought forth the 12-step movement à
big influence on scientific study of addiction)
o Opioids (19th century: opioids were very popular à opium wars 1839-1860, An opium-eater
in America (Blair, 1842), development of patent medications against opium misuse and
addiction)
o Cocaine (once considered a “cure” for opioid addiction, 1900: 250,000 opiate addicts,
200,000 cocaine addicts)
o Marijuana (preoccupation with use replaces pursuit of all other types of excitement)
o Food (little to no (ancient) history, appears to be recent)
• History of behavioural addictions
o Matthey (1816) à diseases of the spirit / “manias”: impact on conceptualization of
behavioural addictions (kleptomania!)
2
, o 1970’s à 12 step programs. Post-1970’s: workaholism, internet addiction disorder à some
“addictions” have a short (scientific) history
§ Common thread: impairment in one or more life domains
§ Vices = behaviours which are pleasurable
o In current day, the extremeness of (addictive) behaviour often needs to be categorized:
increasing engagement in behaviour, reduction of alternative behaviour, diciculties stopping
the behaviour, thinking or acting bizarrely, sleep diciculties, social withdrawal, depression
symptomatology, placing oneself in danger for accidents or violence
• Conceptions of addiction
• Intensional definition of addiction
= causal or process model statements of addictions
§ Addictive behavioural process, etiology (=causal story)
§ 5 models (not mutually exclusive): physiological and psychological dependence,
impulsive-obsessive/compulsive behaviour, self-medication, self-regulation,
addiction entrenchment
• Extensional definition of addiction
= classification of addiction elements
§ Theory based
§ 3 models (six-component definition, five-component definition, DSM-V)
• Physiological and psychological dependence
= prolonged engagement in a behaviour that results in its continued performance being necessary for
physiologic and psychological equilibrium
• Criteria dependence à tolerance, withdrawal, craving
• Tolerance = need to engage in the behaviour more to achieve previous levels of ecects
• Withdrawal symptoms come up when an addict stops using
§ Catecholamine storm = flooding of the central nervous system with
(nor)epinephrine upon abrupt withdrawal à high temperature, tachycardia, tremor
§ Behavioural addictions à withdrawal-like symptoms
• Craving = intense desire to engage in a specific act, mentioned In DSM-V
§ Could be considered a withdrawal symptom through the dependence model of
addiction à often more psychological than physiological
• Impulsive-obsessive/compulsive behaviour
= engagement in the addictive behaviour due to a buildup of tension which is released through the
behaviour à pleasure/self-reproach (cyclical)
o Positive reinforcement variant = the pleasure derived from partaking in addictive behaviour
o Negative reinforcement variant = the relief from the built-up anxiety, but no pleasure, after
partaking in addictive behaviour (leading to anxiety inducing obsessions, cyclically
attributing to the addiction)
§ Positive and negative reinforcement can coexist within a person at the same time,
and positive reinforcement has been linked to earlier stages of addiction whereas
negative reinforcement has been linked to later stages of addiction
§ Dicerentiating OCD and behavioural addiction à compulsions: spontaneous
desires to act a particular way, subjective sense of feeling temporarily out of control,
psychological conflict pertaining to the imprudent behaviour, settling for less to
achieve the same ends, a disregard for negative consequences
3
Course coordinators: Dr. Tobias Stark, Dr. Borja Mar
2008000285, 07/09/2026 - 06/11/2026
Interdisciplinary Social Sciences
By Hasse Meeter
Table of Contents
Lecture 1: An introduction to risk behaviour and the development of substance and
behavioural addictions during adolescence ...................................................................... 2
Sussman (2017).................................................................................................................................2
Gladwin, Crone, Wiers (2011) .............................................................................................................5
Lecture 2: Prevention of risk behaviour and addiction in young people ............................... 7
De Jonge, Troelstra, Van Aerde, Voogt (2024) .......................................................................................7
Onrust, Otten, Lammers, Smit (2016) ............................................................................................... 10
Lecture 3: The role of peers: should peers be considered a risk or protective factor? .........11
Laninga-Wijnen, Veenstra (2021) ...................................................................................................... 11
Laninga-Wijnen, Veenstra (in print) ................................................................................................... 13
Lecture 4: International teen trends in substance use: what’s driving them? .....................14
Ball, Livingston, Grucza, ter Bogt, Currie, de Looze (2023) .................................................................. 14
Lecture 5: The role of parents in the development of risk behaviour and addiction .............15
Koning, Van den Eijnden, Vollebergh (2014) ....................................................................................... 15
Koning, Van Den Eijnden, Visser, Vossen (2024) ................................................................................. 16
Lecture 6: Individual vulnerability to risk behaviour and addiction ....................................17
Castellanos-Ryan, Conrod (2013) ..................................................................................................... 17
Peeters, Prior, Salemink, Sunderland, Stevens, Oldehinkel, Stapinski (2024) ...................................... 18
Trucco, Hartmann (2021) ................................................................................................................. 19
Lecture 7: Neurobiological and behavioural mechanisms of addiction ..............................20
Schellekens (2019) .......................................................................................................................... 20
Lecture 8: Resolving the problem of addiction: Behavioural interventions and clinical
treatment .......................................................................................................................21
Sussman (2017)............................................................................................................................... 21
Michie, Van Stralen, West (2011)....................................................................................................... 23
An overview and summary of all required reading material, formatted by lecture. Notes from lectures are not included.
,Lecture 1: An introduction to risk behaviour and the development of
substance and behavioural addictions during adolescence
Sussman (2017)
Sussman, S. (2017). Chapter 1: A general introduction to the concept of addiction and addictive ePects. In Substance and
Behavioral Addictions: Concepts, Causes, and Cures (pp. 3-31). Cambridge University Press.
• Introduction case study (Johnny): addict, multiple addictions à what is addiction?
• Substance and behavioural addictions
o Substance addiction = repetitive intake of a drug or of food that results in clinically
significant impairment
o Behavioural addiction = engaging in types of behaviours repetitively which are not directly
taken into the body (gambling, sex) that results in clinically significant impairment
o Earlier: addiction = misuse of drugs that led to physiological withdrawal symptoms
(=appearance of both physical and psychological symptoms by physiological adaptations in
the central nervous system and the brain due to chronic exposure to a substance)
§ Addiction often coincides with drugs that cross the blood-brain barrier and drugs
that impact exogenous & endogenous ligand functions (neurotransmitters). With
endogenous ligand functions altered through behavioural addictions,
dopamine/serotonin levels rise during use. However, no direct contact with brain
synapses through exogenous ligands are made (no drug ecect).
§ 12 step organizations for dicerent substance and behavioural addictions target
dysfunctional behaviours
• Focus article: common underlying determinants and observable constituents of addictions. Risk of
pathologizing multiple behaviours comes across as “trivial” à “the concept of addiction may apply
broadly but it is not trivial” à stigma/credibility of scientific institutions
• Evolution of addiction: origin = “giving over”/“highly devoting” to strong, overpowering urges (later:
disease-like connotation) à malfunction of the central nervous system in some way, a “brain
disease” (common features: appetitive ecect, preoccupation, loss of control, etc)
• Addictions
o Tobacco (use of tobacco increased after flue-curing, invented in 1839)
o Alcohol (has been abused for a long amount of time, brought forth the 12-step movement à
big influence on scientific study of addiction)
o Opioids (19th century: opioids were very popular à opium wars 1839-1860, An opium-eater
in America (Blair, 1842), development of patent medications against opium misuse and
addiction)
o Cocaine (once considered a “cure” for opioid addiction, 1900: 250,000 opiate addicts,
200,000 cocaine addicts)
o Marijuana (preoccupation with use replaces pursuit of all other types of excitement)
o Food (little to no (ancient) history, appears to be recent)
• History of behavioural addictions
o Matthey (1816) à diseases of the spirit / “manias”: impact on conceptualization of
behavioural addictions (kleptomania!)
2
, o 1970’s à 12 step programs. Post-1970’s: workaholism, internet addiction disorder à some
“addictions” have a short (scientific) history
§ Common thread: impairment in one or more life domains
§ Vices = behaviours which are pleasurable
o In current day, the extremeness of (addictive) behaviour often needs to be categorized:
increasing engagement in behaviour, reduction of alternative behaviour, diciculties stopping
the behaviour, thinking or acting bizarrely, sleep diciculties, social withdrawal, depression
symptomatology, placing oneself in danger for accidents or violence
• Conceptions of addiction
• Intensional definition of addiction
= causal or process model statements of addictions
§ Addictive behavioural process, etiology (=causal story)
§ 5 models (not mutually exclusive): physiological and psychological dependence,
impulsive-obsessive/compulsive behaviour, self-medication, self-regulation,
addiction entrenchment
• Extensional definition of addiction
= classification of addiction elements
§ Theory based
§ 3 models (six-component definition, five-component definition, DSM-V)
• Physiological and psychological dependence
= prolonged engagement in a behaviour that results in its continued performance being necessary for
physiologic and psychological equilibrium
• Criteria dependence à tolerance, withdrawal, craving
• Tolerance = need to engage in the behaviour more to achieve previous levels of ecects
• Withdrawal symptoms come up when an addict stops using
§ Catecholamine storm = flooding of the central nervous system with
(nor)epinephrine upon abrupt withdrawal à high temperature, tachycardia, tremor
§ Behavioural addictions à withdrawal-like symptoms
• Craving = intense desire to engage in a specific act, mentioned In DSM-V
§ Could be considered a withdrawal symptom through the dependence model of
addiction à often more psychological than physiological
• Impulsive-obsessive/compulsive behaviour
= engagement in the addictive behaviour due to a buildup of tension which is released through the
behaviour à pleasure/self-reproach (cyclical)
o Positive reinforcement variant = the pleasure derived from partaking in addictive behaviour
o Negative reinforcement variant = the relief from the built-up anxiety, but no pleasure, after
partaking in addictive behaviour (leading to anxiety inducing obsessions, cyclically
attributing to the addiction)
§ Positive and negative reinforcement can coexist within a person at the same time,
and positive reinforcement has been linked to earlier stages of addiction whereas
negative reinforcement has been linked to later stages of addiction
§ Dicerentiating OCD and behavioural addiction à compulsions: spontaneous
desires to act a particular way, subjective sense of feeling temporarily out of control,
psychological conflict pertaining to the imprudent behaviour, settling for less to
achieve the same ends, a disregard for negative consequences
3
