Liam is an 18-year-old university student who has developed a dependency on prescription painkillers (codeine). His father has long suffered from chronic back pain and frequently uses strong prescription painkillers at home, openly stating that he 'cannot cope with daily life' without them.
Liam first began misusing painkillers at the age of 15 to gain the approval of a new social group of older skateboarders, all of whom regularly shared and experimented with prescription medications.
Currently, Liam finds that taking codeine helps him escape the intense academic pressure of his university course and numbs his constant worry about failing his exams. He now takes the medication whenever he feels overwhelmed by his workload.
Discuss how risk factors in the development of addiction apply to Liam's behavior.
You must make reference to the context in your answer.
Practise Edexcel A Level Psychology Content with exam-style questions for A Level Psychology. 1,059 questions covering Issues around drug taking, Biological explanations of drug addiction, Learning explanations of drug addiction, Treatments for drug addiction, Anti-drug campaign and strategies, Individual differences, and Developmental psychology, matched to the Edexcel A Level Psychology (9PS0) specification and written in Paper 1, Paper 2 and Paper 3 style. Every question includes a full worked solution and mark scheme, so you can see where marks are awarded rather than just whether you got the answer right.
