A podcast episode written and produced by Susanna Lee
A friend jokingly uses it as an excuse for why they can’t resist online shopping. A news article blames it as the reason why some celebrity just can’t seem to shake their drug habit. A family member rejects a glass of wine for fear that it will prevent them from being able to stop themselves. We’ve all heard the term before one way or another. In this episode of Mind Myths, we debunk one of the most popular myths about addiction and substance use: the myth of the addictive personality.
References
Amodeo, M. (2015). The addictive personality. Substance use & Misuse, 50(8-9), 1031- 1036. https://doi.org/10.3109/10826084.2015.1007646
Charles, P. (Writers), & Southam, T. (Director). (2014, March 31). The Turn in the Urn (Season 9, Episode 19) [TV series episode]. In H. Hanson. (Executive Producer), Bones. Josephson Entertainment; Far Field Productions; 20th Century Fox Television
CBC News. (2014, May 30). Aboriginal people and alcohol. CBC News Audio. https://www.cbc.ca/news/aboriginal/aboriginal-people-and-alcohol-not-a-genetic-predisposition-1.2660167
Cervone, D., & Pervin, L. A. (2019). Personality: Theory and research (14th ed.) John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Griffiths, M. D. (2017). The myth of ‘addictive personality’. Global Journal of Addiction & Rehabilitation Medicine, 3(2). https://doi.org/10.19080/GJARM.2017.03.555610
Kassin, S. M., Fein, S., & Markus, H. R. (2017). Social psychology (10th ed.) Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
Szalavitz, M. (2015). Genetics: No more addictive personality. Nature (London), 522(7557), S48-S49. https://doi.org/10.1038/522S48a