THE LIFE CYCLE OF ADDICTION: A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE EXAMINATION OF CAREERS IN DRUG ABUSE.
Item
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Title
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THE LIFE CYCLE OF ADDICTION: A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE EXAMINATION OF CAREERS IN DRUG ABUSE.
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Identifier
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AAI8023683
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identifier
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8023683
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Creator
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ALKSNE, HAROLD.
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Contributor
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Charles Winick
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Date
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1980
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Sociology, Criminology and Penology
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Abstract
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This study was executed to test a theoretical framework by Alksne, Lieberman and Brill concerning a conceptual model of the life cycle of addiction which postulates that there is a process involved in entering into, continuing and leaving an addiction system, i.e., a way of life built around compulsive use of narcotics. The life cycle model suggests that addicts learn to tolerate the addicted state by a series of social supports and identities. Similarly, movement toward a drug free state requires support that would assist the individual in tolerating the condition of abstinence. Data were gathered on 249 adolescent patients first admitted to Riverside Hospital in 1955. Some of the attributes which were found to support the individual's withdrawal from the addiction system and movement into a condition where he is able to tolerate abstinence were found to be: Being White, female, better educated; movement away from the family of orientation toward greater autonomy; no deviance among other family members; rejection by the family of the patient's involvement in the addiction system; having a family which helps to ease tensions; having non-deviant associates; having stable sexual relationships; having the ability to engage in work that is stable, profitable and satisfying; having an arrest history that was focussed around narcotic rather than criminal charges; having used low doses of narcotics; having entered the life cycle of addiction at a later age, and having used drugs to manage untenable social conditions rather than for hedonistic purposes.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Sociology
