St John of God meeting to address issues around substance use among adolescents and people with mild intellectual disability
Ireland has seen a significant rise in behavioural addictions including excessive gambling, screen use and online purchasing in recent years, a major conference will hear today.
The annual research conference by St John of God Research Foundation will discuss the links between these addictions and constant digital connectivity, and how they particularly impact young people.
Lesley O’Hara
“Addiction touches every part of society, and tackling it effectively requires a collective informed response,” said St John of God Research Foundation CEO Lesley O’Hara.
“Today’s discussions underscore the importance of research-led strategies and cross-sector collaboration in shaping the future of addiction care.”
Behavioural addictions involve compulsive engagement in a behaviour or activity and differ from substance addictions, which involve dependence on a chemical substance such as alcohol or drugs.
Research to be presented at the event will show how more than two-thirds of people (69 per cent) are increasingly worried that technology is hindering their children’s communication skills.
Over one-in-three (37 per cent) believe that new innovations are negatively affecting their home life. Around two-in-five people are likely to check their social media while struggling to sleep, with this number climbing to as high as seven out of ten of Gen Z respondents (people between the ages of 15 and 29).
“Behavioural addictions are increasingly prevalent in a world of constant digital connectivity,” said Prof Colin O’Gara, head of addiction services at St John of God Hospital.
“Understanding these conditions as addictions is crucial for developing compassionate, evidence-based responses in treatment and policy.”
The growth of behavioural addictions will be the subject of Prof O’Gara’s talk at the conference, which marks its thirty-fifth anniversary this year.
Other speakers at today’s conference include consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist Prof Bobby Smith, who will discuss substance use disorders among adolescents.
Prof Evelien Poelen of Radboud University in the Netherlands will talk about the issue of substance use in people with mild intellectual disability, while CEO of the Gambling Regulatory Authority, Anne Marie Caulfield, will deliver an address entitled: ‘The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland journey: priorities and research’.
In a talk entitled ‘What good thing will come of this?’, gambling addictions counsellor Tony O’Reilly will provide a lived experience of gambling addiction, rehabilitation and recovery.
Tony was the author – along with Sunday Independent journalist Declan Lynch – of Tony 10, the story of how, as an An Post employee, he ended up gambling €10 million.
