# Is there a predisposition in some people towards addiction? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 10, 2015, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-predisposition-in-some-people-towards-addiction/737213 "2015-11-10T18:55:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2015, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-predisposition-in-some-people-towards-addiction/737213/1 "2015-11-10T18:55:33Z")
My google-fu has failed me, so I will throw this out to the group. You often hear people say that ‘alcoholism runs in my family’, or that ‘people in my family become addicted to pain meds after using them for only a little while’, or that ‘people in my family easily go from cigarettes, to pot, to heroin’. Are some people wired to become addicted to substances that other people wouldn’t become addicted to under similar circumstances? To put is more simply, are some people predisposed to become addicted while others aren’t? And if there is a predisposition is there some way to ‘see it’ by looking at someone’s genetic makeup? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2015, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-predisposition-in-some-people-towards-addiction/737213/2 "2015-11-10T19:04:37Z")
A couple of quick links - > **[111-118.pdf](https://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh312/111-118.pdf)** > > 160.46 KB > **[Addiction and Genetics: Is addiction hereditary?](https://recovered.org/addiction/addiction-and-genetics)** > > Studies have proven that substance addiction may have strong links to genetic makeup and family history as well as social-economic factors and past trauma. > **[Risk Factors for Addiction](https://www.healthline.com/health/addiction/risk-factors#Overview1)** [https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=genetic+predisposition+to+addiction&hl=en&as\_sdt=0&as\_vis=1&oi=scholart&sa=X&ved=0CBsQgQMwAGoVChMIuNfTpcWGyQIVRjw-Ch3FpQgQ](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=genetic+predisposition+to+addiction&hl=en&as_sdt=0&as_vis=1&oi=scholart&sa=X&ved=0CBsQgQMwAGoVChMIuNfTpcWGyQIVRjw-Ch3FpQgQ) So there seems to be a strong genetic component backed by many studies. I don’t know enough to say if there are markers that can easily been spotted, it may be in some of the links or someone more knowledgeable can chime in. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2015, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-predisposition-in-some-people-towards-addiction/737213/3 "2015-11-10T19:18:07Z")
Heck, this [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Addiction](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Addiction) makes it pretty clear there’s a heritable genetic component. Just not one that’s testable for as such. Yet. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2015, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-predisposition-in-some-people-towards-addiction/737213/4 "2015-11-10T20:11:24Z")
Thanks folks. Reading some of those links I get the impression that genetics plays a part, but doesn’t account 100% if someone has a predisposition to addiction. and given there are multiple factors involved I suppose there isn’t a genetic marker to let you know whether you have a predisposition, but family history seems to be a pretty good clue. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2015, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-predisposition-in-some-people-towards-addiction/737213/5 "2015-11-10T20:27:11Z")
According to some research, there is a genetic trait that causes alcohol to be metabolized in a way that tends to intensify and prolong the craving for more. This is fairly common in some northern Asians, and Native Americans. There is some dispute as to the mechanism, but not so much that it exists.