The Meaning of Addiction An Unconventional View

by Peele, Stanton

• ISBN13: 9780787943820
• ISBN10: 0787943827
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1998-09-01
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass

Summary

A controversial and persuasive analysis of addiction A tour de force, a spectacular effort of research and understanding. This book gives us the courage to bypass disease notions to deal with intrapsychic, family system, and social and cultural dynamics in addiction. ?David Cook, Counseling and Psychological Services, University of Wisconsin This compelling and controversial book challenges the widely accepted belief that alcohol and drug addiction have a genetic or biological basis. The so-called disease theory suggests that a substance or activity can cause the addict to lose control of his behavior. Stanton Peele demonstrates how this notion fails to make sense of scientific observations. Analyzing studies of drug and cigarette addiction, alcoholism, obesity, and other potential compulsions such as running and sex, Peele reveals the surprising frequency of self-cure as part of the evidence. The author finds that compulsive habits and depAndency are a way of coping that individuals can reverse as their life circumstances change. This brilliantly argued book is sure to provoke discussion and stimulate new approaches to treatment.

Author Biography

STANTON PEELE, a leading figure in the addictions field, has won the Mark Keller award from the Rutgers Center Alcohol Studies and the Lindesmith Award from the Drug Policy Foundation. He is the author of the classic Love and Addiction and The Truth About Addiction and Recovery.

Table of Contents

Updated Preface	ix	(2)
First Edition Preface	xi	(2)
Acknowledgments	xiii
1. The Concept of Addiction	1	(26)
Opiate Addiction in the United States and the Western World	3	(3)
Divergent Evidence about Narcotic Addiction	6	(6)
Nonbiological Factors in Addiction	12	(5)
The Nature of Addiction	17	(10)
2. The American Image of Alcohol: Does Liquor Have the Power to Corrupt and Control?	27	(20)
The Disease of Alcoholism	28	(2)
Historical, Social, Ethnic, and Economic Factors in Alcoholism in the United States	30	(2)
The Social Science Challenge to the Disease Theory	32	(5)
Controlled-Drinking Therapy for Alcoholism	37	(10)
3. Theories of Addiction	47	(26)
Stanton Peele
Bruce K. Alexander
Genetic Theories	48	(8)
Exposure Theories: Biological Models	56	(6)
Exposure Theories: Conditioning Models	62	(7)
Adaptation Theories	69	(3)
The Requirements of a Successful Theory of Addiction	72	(1)
4. Adult, Infant, and Animal Addiction	73	(24)
Bruce K. Alexander
Stanton Peele
Patricia F. Hadaway
Stanley J. Morse
Archie Brodsky
Barry L. Beyerstein
The Effect on the Infant of Mother's Drug Use	73	(4)
The Addicted Animal	77	(2)
Animal Narcotics Use in Rat Park	79	(9)
What Causes Animals to Accept Narcosis?	88	(6)
The Implication of Infant and Animal Research for Conception of Addiction	94	(3)
5. Addiction to an Experience	97	(36)
Elements of the Addictive Experience	97	(7)
Susceptibility to Addiction and the Choice of Addictive Object: Social and Cultural Factors	104	(6)
Susceptibility to and Choice of Addiction: Situational Factors	110	(3)
Susceptibility to and Choice of Addiction: Individual Factors	113	(9)
Susceptibility to and Choice of Addiction: Developmental Factors	122	(6)
The Nature of Addiction: The Addiction Cycle	128	(5)
6. The Impaired Society	133	(26)
The Narcotic Connection--Supply and Demand	135	(5)
The Negative Effects of the Belief in Chemical Dependence	140	(2)
Can We Treat Away the Drug Problem?	142	(3)
The Alcoholism and Chemical Dependence Industry	145	(5)
Spreading Diseases	150	(4)
The Cure for Addiction	154	(5)
References	159	(28)
Author Index	187	(6)
Subject Index	193	(12)
About the Author	205