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Perhaps the most prevalent argument in the field of psychology is the debate regarding nature versus nurture: are one’s thoughts and behaviors things to which he or she is genetically predisposed, or are they due to environmental factors? Modern psychologists tend to agree that evidence exists in support of both sides of the case, leading people to believe that their personalities are the result of both nature-their genetic makeup and nurture-the situations with which they’re faced. However, the debate becomes increasingly complicated when dealing with psychological abnormalities. Are certain individuals biologically doomed to suffer from psychiatric troubles such as schizophrenia and panic disorder, or are such mental illnesses brought on by aversive life experiences?
Recent research seems to indicate that causation is dependent upon the specific type of psychiatric disorder in question. The public seems to believe, for example, that chemical dependency has different roots than depression. According to Kuppin and Carpiano (2006), “biologically focused treatment options were most commonly viewed as appropriate” when dealing with depression and schizophrenia (p. 1768). This suggests that patients with said disorders are likely suffering from some sort of biological impairment. The same cannot be said for chemical dependency, as Kuppin and Carpiano (2006) also noted that the public found counseling and support groups to be effective in treating drug abuse (p. 1768), signifying that such a problem is conceivably the result of an environmental factor and thereby can be solved by altering the sufferer’s surroundings. However, these findings were simply the result of public opinion, and therefore do not provide scientific evidence regarding the causation of drug abuse. Furthermore, what remains undiscovered by this study is the complete range of factors contributing to chemical dependency. While environment may in fact play a significant role, one must also take into consideration other possible causes of drug addiction, including biological predispositions.
Families who have seen several members suffer from drug addiction may serve as evidence that chemical dependency is, in fact, a biological predisposition. However, one may also argue that families tend to share similar surroundings and habits, making it plausible that the illness is a result of environmental factors. If a mother and daughter both experience addiction to crystal methamphetamine, for example, psychologists might conclude that such a situation is due to the mother and daughter having similar habitats and experiencing related life events. On the other hand, how can they explain the fact that separated twins, who share genetic makeup, can grow up in different environments yet both suffer from chemical dependency? In this case, nurture certainly cannot account for both twins abusing drugs, and it seems likely that a biological condition is to blame. However, before jumping to the conclusion that genetics are to blame for chemical dependency, psychologists must take scientific research into consideration to support this theory. Relevant research suggests that genetics do have a significant effect on the development of an addiction to a chemical substance, such as alcohol or cocaine. According to Agrawal and Lynskey (2008), “family studies conclude that both alcoholism and substance abuse disorders cluster in families, due presumably to genetic factors” (p. 1070). Such studies have estimated genetics to account for 50-70 percent of the development of alcoholism, and cocaine and heroin dependence, as well as addiction to cannabis have been shown to have significant heritability (pp. 1072-1074). These statistics help to rule out the assumption that repeated occurrences of drug addiction among families are due to the environment in which families find themselves. Before families accept the fact that their addictions are likely the result of a biological flaw; however, they’ll want to know the reasoning behind this belief.
Studies in the field of neuropsychology can begin to make clear the role of genetics in drug addiction, helping the chemically dependent to further understand the causes of their afflictions. In fact, neurochemistry provides direct explanations regarding how and why genetic makeup contributes to substance abuse. According to the results of research conducted by Agrawal and Dick (2008), electrophysiological studies have shown that abnormal P3 component responses are present in the brains of alcoholics and their children, further linking genetics to the disease, as well as to addictions to other drugs (p. 112). Bernat et al. (2007) agree with Agrawal and Dick, as they have noted that reduced P3 amplitudes have been detected not only in alcoholics, but also in their sons (p. 98). One must realize that these sons have not yet developed alcoholism; therefore, psychologists cannot help but assume that such substantiation presents a direct genetic link to alcoholism. This evidence is in essence ground-breaking; it essentially proves the existence of a biological predisposition to experience abnormal neurochemistry, which can in turn lead to chemical addiction. Not only do such genetic deficiencies contribute to the risk for developing alcoholism; they also affect the way the body processes chemical substances. Alcoholics, for example, tend to have a genetic makeup that speeds the course of converting ethanol to acetaldehyde, intensifying the body’s reaction to the substance (Agrawal & Lynskey, 2008, p.114). This phenomenon feasibly leads to addiction; if the body responds powerfully to a drug, an individual will desire more and more of the compound to repeatedly reach the same level of elation. Because of this, a person who is not genetically wired to experience an abnormal reaction to alcohol can have a few drinks and, and after the initial inebriation has worn off, be essentially unaffected. He or she has no genetic drive to reach intoxication; therefore the chances of him or her becoming an alcoholic are slim to none. That being said, a genetic tendency to respond intensely to alcohol is clearly in existence; however, to prove alcoholism to be a genetic disorder does not confirm that substance abuse in general is a result of biology.
Because alcoholism alone does not speak for the entire realm of drug addictions, the genetic and neurological conditions associated with the abuse of other substances must also be taken into consideration. Interestingly enough, addiction to opiates, heroin in particular, has been proven to have genetic roots. Chen et al. (2008) noted that genetic contribution to the development of opiate addiction can be as high as 60 percent (p. 417). As previously mentioned, the evidence of the heritability of these substances is substantial; however, mental health workers, as well as patients can benefit from knowing how and why their addiction is a genetic condition. A study conducted by the Rockefeller University begins to answer this question as it relates to heroin dependence. According to Adelson et al. (2008), “the opioid system plays a central role in reward, drug craving, and relapse” (p. 724). Due to this system’s involvement in the brain’s reward centers, it is a key contributor to heroin addiction, and genes which are part of the system lead to the development of chemical dependency. So, certain genetic variants can make a person susceptible to opiate addiction, therefore establishing it as a biological condition, much like alcoholism. Perhaps this can serve to explain the intensity with which a heroin addict faces his or her addiction. The human body is not designed to be self-destructive; the fact that an addict went so far as to experiment with heroin in the first place is an indicator that his or her brain chemistry is flawed, and to attribute this situation to genetics is not outlandish.
To blame an addict’s plight on biology doesn’t seem absurd, as neurological studies show that addiction to heroin and alcohol is, at least in part, due to a sufferer’s genetic makeup. In addition to the results of several studies utilizing brain scans, it is also important to consider the results of various other researches, and fortunately, animal studies have contributed to the understanding of the biological causes of drug abuse. Nester (2000) found that a lack of serotonin can lead to a heightened reaction to cocaine and alcohol, as mice willingly consumed more alcohol when deficient in serotonin (p. 278). Because levels of serotonin are attributed to genetics and neurochemistry, it seems that an individual with a genetic predisposition to have low levels of serotonin in the brain would be more likely to suffer from chemical dependency. On the other hand, someone who produces normal levels of serotonin and experiences a healthy reuptake of the neurotransmitter can expect to be free from addiction. Even if stressful environmental factors were to affect a healthy individual, he or she would likely never experience chemical dependency, as the environmental susceptibility to suffer from addiction is simply not present in an individual with stabilized brain chemistry.
Low levels of serotonin, as well as generalized abnormal neurological makeup conceivably contribute to cocaine, alcohol, and heroin abuse, but what can be said for drug addiction in general? As it turns out, evidence exists to support the theory that chemical dependency, as a whole, is the result of specific flaws in genetic makeup. A study conducted by Arinami et al. (2007) showed that a minor allele was seen in abusers twice as frequently as in members of a control group (p. 1323). This suggests that certain neurological factors can make an individual susceptible to addiction in general. That is to say, such genetic makeup allows for the possibility of a chemical dependency to develop in the first place, and, whether or not an addiction is present depends upon environmental factors. Dr. Joel Gelernter agrees with this theory, saying that genetics and environment both play a role in chemical dependency, and people who are genetically-predisposed to addiction can positively modify their environments (“Large Family,” 2007, para. 6-7).
It would seem that surrounding an addicted individual with an environment more conducive to his or her health would help to eliminate the chemical dependency, and while that may be true, research evidencing the significance of genetic contributions certainly provides mental health practitioners with vital information regarding methods of treatment that will be effective in rehabilitation settings. Because drug abuse is influenced by genetic factors, psychologists would be wise to consider biologically-focused treatment options to aid in drug rehabilitation, in addition to the environmentally-based treatment options that are, for the most part, ineffective. Group counseling and other forms of psychotherapy may provide some sort of benefit for addicts, but adding Prozac, which can solve the problem of the low levels of serotonin frequently associated with chemical dependency, has the potential to have a lasting impact. Drug-based treatment can serve to alter flawed neurochemistry, and hopefully cure the addiction completely, as Adinoff (2004) has stated that “medications interacting with the mesolimbic pathway to decrease the incentive salience of drugs may prove useful as a preventative measure (p. 314). After all, prescription medications are far less harmful than the cocaine, alcohol, opiates, and methamphetamines addicts are currently abusing.

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