ADHD and addiction can be traced to similar causes
The link between ADHD and a predisposition to addiction is obvious and, in fact, inevitable. The connection has little to do with genetics. ADHD is no more inherited genetically than addiction is, despite the widespread assumption among ADHD experts that it’s “the most heritable of all mental disorders.” Like addition, scientific findings since then have only confirmed that pre- and postnatal stresses are the most important determinants of ADHD. The quality of the relationships with childhood caregivers determines the capacity for a healthy stress-response. According to a 2004 study by B. R. Van den Bergh and A. Marcoen, for example, percent of ADHD symptoms in eight- and nine-year-old children can be directly linked to maternal anxiety during pregnancy. Abused children are far more likely than others to be diagnosed with ADHD, and the same brain structures affected by childhood trauma are most consistently abnormal in scans of children with ADHD.
References
- Mate, Gabor. (2010). In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts Close Encounters with Addiction Appendix II. A Close Link Attention Deficit Disorder and Addictions (p. 523). Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books.
Metadata
Type:🔴 Tags Biology / Neuroscience / Developmental Neurology / Psychaitry Status:☀️