Addiction is a serious problem, but let's be clear. Not everyone who takes drugs or drinks alcohol will become addicted. Not everyone with the addiction gene becomes an addict. Genetics and environment together play a role.

Why do some people become addicts and others don't?  The answers to this question are complex and not entirely understood.  We do know that being vulnerable to addiction seems to result from a combination of genetics and environment.  In other words, there are risk factors for addiction just as there are for other diseases and disorders. (Risk factors are things that increase your chance of developing a disease or condition, but they do not mean you definitely will get it.)  The major risk factors appear to be:

• Genetics: most likely a number of genes are involved in making people more vulnerable to addiction.  Studies of twins show that genetics explains perhaps 50 to 60 percent of the vulnerability.  Children of alcoholics are four times more likely to develop alcoholism themselves than others and at least 60 percent of alcoholics have family histories of alcoholism.
  
• Psychological problems: people with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, mood disorders, feelings of loneliness, and other psychological problems are at greater risk of developing addiction.  Often drugs are used to cope with these problems, but then the drugs themselves become a greater problem.
  
• Social environment: peer pressure is a powerful influence in beginning drug use.  People who live, go to school, or work in an area where drug use, abuse, and addiction are common are at greater risk of becoming drug users, abusers, or addicts.
  
• Type of drug: addictive substances affect the brain and brain chemistry in different ways.  Some can create the changes in the brain that cause addiction much faster than others. 
  
• Early drug use: using addictive substances at an early age can put one at greater risk of developing addiction.
  
• Early traumatic experiences: children who have had a history of neglect, abuse (psychological, physical and/or sexual), and other traumatic experiences are at greater risk of developing addiction.  These experiences can affect a person's brain chemistry in ways that make them more vulnerable to addiction.

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