It’s a common question: “If someone in my family developed an addiction, does this mean I’m at risk, too?” The answer is both yes—and no. According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA), “substance use disorders are heritable and influenced by complex interactions among multiple genes and environmental factors.” However, researchers are also quick to point out that while genetics are essential for determining key health factors, “they’re not our destiny.” Here’s how risk and preventive factors influence addiction inheritability.
Risk Factors Contributing to Addiction
According to a Rutgers University evaluation of various addiction science studies, the quick answer to the question is this: “Research suggests alcohol addiction is about 50 percent heritable, while addiction to other drugs is as much as 70 percent heritable.” So here’s what you should know about having a biological predisposition to substance use disorder (SUD) or alcohol use disorder (AUD), as well as other contributing risk factors that are environmental and developmental.
- Biological
Genetic factors influence how the brain responds to substances, affecting the likelihood of developing dependence. Specific genes related to dopamine regulation and receptor function are linked to a higher risk of addiction. These genes may lead to a person experiencing an increased sensation of reward when using substances or, if there’s a family history of mental health disorders, make them more susceptible to addiction.
- Environmental
This component includes exposure to substance use in the family or community, peer pressure, and the availability of drugs or alcohol. Stressful circumstances—such as adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) or poverty, abuse, neglect, trauma, and instability later in life—often establish causation for substance misuse as a coping mechanism. Additionally, people in environments where substance use is normalized or readily available are at a higher risk of experimenting with and becoming dependent on drugs or alcohol.
- Developmental
The age at which someone first uses a substance is a critical factor in addiction risk. NIDA notes that “because areas in their brains that control decision-making, judgment, and self-control are still developing, teens may be especially prone to risky behaviors, including trying drugs.” Early experimentation alters the brain’s reward system and makes it more likely for someone to develop an AUD or SUD later in life.
However, the good news is that even if all these elements are present, contrasting elements known as protective factors help lessen the risk of dependency.
Protective Factors Reduce the Potential for Addiction
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) defines protective factors as “characteristics associated with a lower likelihood of negative outcomes or that reduce a risk factor’s impact. Protective factors may be seen as positive countering events.” Combining aspects for both teens and adults, they often include:
- Supportive parental supervision and open communication
- A sense of belonging/connectedness to family, school, and community
- Participation in positive social involvement and, for children and teens, supervised leisure activities
- Emotional and social competence
- Resiliency, or the ability to adapt to change and stressful events
- Spirituality
- High self-esteem and problem-solving skills
- Recognition for positive behavior and achievements
The strong influence of protective factors is often outlined in twin studies and helps balance any concern about addiction being hereditary. For example, findings from a 2024 study about ACEs and mental health outcomes featuring more than 25,000 adult twins provided interesting insight.
“Twins who were exposed to ACEs compared with co-twins who were not exposed had increased odds of clinically confirmed adult psychiatric disorders, particularly after sexual abuse or multiple ACEs,” researchers indicated. “These findings support an association between ACEs and poor mental health in adulthood, notwithstanding evidence for familial confounding from shared genetic and environmental factors.”
Other studies indicate that if a pre-disposed twin experiments with substances at an early age, suffers devastating trauma, has a mental illness, and/or experiences adverse developmental or environmental factors, there’s a strong chance that a compulsion to use will manifest into addiction. When there are no environmental factors but a heightened influence of protective factors, genetic risks have a minimal effect.
Break the Cycle at Ivory Plains
If you have concerns about whether addiction is hereditary, the best thing to do is talk openly about it. For example:
- Don’t keep secrets. Each descendant has a right to know their health history, and that includes AUD, SUD, mental health, chronic diseases, and other vital issues. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides more resources for establishing a family health history.
- Have appropriate conversations with children at various ages regarding the effects of alcohol and drugs. KidsHealth offers a detailed guideline about what phrasing to use and how to start the discussion.
- Be honest with your family and children about your struggles with AUD and SUD. What valuable information society learns about generational substance abuse may be expanded as more of us seek professional help and share our stories.
At our addiction rehabilitation program in Adair, Iowa, our board-certified professionals see you as an individual. While your risk factors are important to address, our team will also provide you with evidence-based and holistic methods to help you forge new protective factors to better your health and break the cycle of addiction. Ask our admissions staff for more details.
