Risk behavior and addiction in adolescence

Course goals

Learning objectives for lectures and literature:

At the end of this course, a student will be able to demonstrate understanding of:
1.    The major themes of research into risk behaviour and addiction in adolescence.
2.    The (inter)national trends in the prevalence of substance use, other risk behaviours, and addiction among adolescents.
3.    The potential risks that substance use, other risk behaviours, and addiction may have on adolescents’ mental, physical, and psychosocial functioning and wellbeing.
4.    The main theoretical perspectives and explanatory models for adolescents’ substance use, other risk behaviours, and addiction.
5.    The potential policy measures and behavioural interventions that may help to prevent adolescents’ substance use, other risk behaviours, and addiction problems
6.    Potential strategies to stimulate behaviour change and clinical treatment programs for addiction problems.

Learning objectives for working groups:

At the end of this course, a student will be able to:
1.    Formulate a problem definition and research question on a topic related to risk behaviour and addiction in adolescence.
2.    Use relevant theories and empirical knowledge to explain the emergence of a certain risk behaviour or addiction problem.
3.    Develop a theoretically grounded explanatory process model by critically analysing and organizing relevant theories and empirical knowledge.
4.    Formulate and argue for a policy recommendation based on a theoretically grounded explanatory process model for a specific risk behaviour or addiction problem.
5.    Apply knowledge about proximal, distal, and ultimate factors.
6.    Apply knowledge of mediation and moderation processes.

Content

Since the early 2000s, there has been a clear decline in adolescent substance use across Europe and North America. However, the prevalence of smoking, alcohol consumption, and cannabis use among adolescents aged 12-16 has exhibited a stagnation since 2017, and recent indications suggest that vaping among adolescents has been on the rise. Additionally, when compared to their peers in other European nations, Dutch adolescents are still relative heavy drinkers and cannabis users.

Given these statistics and the adverse effects of substance use, including negative health impacts and an increased risk of addiction, it is crucial to study the predictors and outcomes of substance use among Dutch adolescents and their peers abroad. Besides substance use addictions, there is also a heightened risk of developing behavioural addictions. For instance, since the early 2000s, internet-related addictive behaviours have emerged, and currently, a substantial number of European adolescents are so heavily engaged in social media use or gaming that it may negatively impact their future development.

This course will focus on deepening students understanding of theories and research related to adolescent risk behaviours that can lead to substance addictions (such as smoking, drinking, cannabis use, and illicit drug use) or behavioural addictions (like internet-related addictive behaviours and gambling disorder). Emphasis will also be placed on preventing these issues through policy measures and behavioural interventions. Finally, the course will examine strategies for behaviour change and the clinical treatment of addiction problems.