The Biology of Alcoholism, Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 1983 Volume 6: The Pathogenesis of Alcoholism Psychosocial Factors

Pathogenesis is defined in Blakiston's Medical Dictional), as "the course of development of disease, including the sequence of processes or events from inception to the characteristic lesion or disease. " The central position of the word "pathogenesis" in the titles of Volumes 6 and 7 in itself connotes a bias on the part of the editors in favor of the disease concept of alcoholism, inasmuch as the end product of the pathogenetic process is presumed to be a disease. But the disease model as here conceptualized is vastly different from that of Jellinek, or of Alcoholics Anonymous, or of psychoanalysis. In those theories, alcoholism is seen as the inevitable consequence of some specific flaw in the heredity or the experience of the afflicted individual that inexorably leads to alcoholism. In these present volumes, the alcoholic syndrome is viewed rather as the outgrowth of the interaction of a variety of biological, psychological, and social influences which, depending on the predom­ inance of one or another, may lead to different types of alcoholism. This view, which has been labeled the bio-psycho-social perspective, encompasses a larger view of the dynamics of the development of alcoholism, incorporating data from each of the phenomenologic levels involved. An additional complication arises from the fact that the physiolog­ ical and psychosocial stigmata of alcoholics, which are probably most often the result of prolonged drinking, frequently have come to be considered as causes of the disease.

of Volume 6.- 1 Types of Alcohol Dependence.- Factors of Change.- The Need for a Unifying Concept.- Individual Variability.- The Problems of Alcohol.- Types of Alcohol Dependence.- The Concept of Social Dependence.- Summary and Some Implications for Research, Prevention, and Treatment.- 2 The Natural History of Alcoholism.- Historical Aspects.- Natural History Studies.- Alcoholism in Females.- Spontaneous Remission.- Social Drinking in Ex-Alcoholics.- Abstinence.- Morbidity.- Mortality.- Conclusions.- References.- 3 Psychiatric Characteristics of Alcoholics.- Acute Alcohol Psychoses: Intoxication and Withdrawal.- Alcoholism and Affective Disorders.- Alcoholism and Suicide.- Alcoholism and Schizophrenia.- Alcoholism and Sociopathy.- Alcoholism and Neurosis.- Treatment Implications.- Summary.- References.- 4 Clinical and Prealcoholic Personality Characteristics.- Objective Personality Batteries.- Projective Personality Tests.- Perceptual Tests.- A Clinical Alcoholic Personality Model.- References.- 5 Why Do Alcoholics Drink?.- The Evolution of “Addictive” Drinking Behavior.- The Issue of Loss of Control.- Individual Drinking Patterns.- Summary.- References.- 6 Alcoholism in Women.- The Causative Theories.- General Conclusions.- References.- 7 The Alcoholic Family.- Family Assessment and Measurement Techniques.- Family Environment and the Development of Alcoholism.- Family Determinants of the Course of Alcoholism.- The Impact of Alcoholism on the Family: Family Violence.- Conclusions.- References.- 8 Ethnicity and Nationality in Alcoholism.- Drinking Subcultures.- A Socialization Model of Drinking.- The Dynamics of Drinking Socialization.- The Effects of Assimilation on Ethnic Drinking Patterns.- Conclusion.- References.- 9 Religion and Alcoholism.- Theories of theMoral and Symbolic Dimensions of Drinking.- Religion and Drunkenness in Primitive and Traditional Societies.- Religion and Alcoholism in Modern Societies.- References.- 10 Social-Class Factors in Alcoholism.- Historical Background.- Institutional Rates.- Statistics of Troubles.- Direct Measures of Drinking.- Measures of Drinking Problems.- Summary, Discussion, and Conclusion.- References.- 11 Occupational Factors in Alcoholism.- Review of the Literature.- Structural Characteristics of Occupations.- Discussion and Conclusions.- References.- 12 Region and Urbanization as Factors in Drinking Practices and Problems.- Geography and Drinking.- Alcohol Measures and Geographic Variables.- Geographic Units and Alcohol Studies.- Variation by Region and Urbanicity in Drinking Practices and Problems in the United States.- New Data on Drinking Patterns.- Alcohol-Related Problems.- Regional Differences in an International Perspective.- Urban-Rural Differences in an International Perspective.- Alcohol and the Process of Urbanization.- References.- 13 A Comprehensive Theory of the Pathogenesis of Alcoholism.- System Dynamics.- A Theory of Alcoholism.- Investigating Ways to Deal with Alcoholism.- Conclusion.- References.