Alcoholics' beliefs about responsibility for, and recovery from, their condition

Abstract

A study was carried out with a sample of in-patients and out-patients in an alcohol treatment programme examining beliefs about where responsibility lay for their condition and recovery from it. Brickman et al. [1] proposed a framework for understanding these beliefs consisting of four 'models'. In each model responsibility for causing the problem and for resolving it is considered either to lie with the individual or with other factors. The results indicated that the alcoholics' beliefs could not readily be understood in terms of this framework. As regards the cause of their condition, belief in the role of luck, personal responsibility and acceptance of a disease model emerged as independent factors. With regard to responsibility for recovery, belief in personal responsibility, the value of treatment and support and the importance of motivation emerged as separate factors. Belief in personal responsibility for causing the problem was significantly associated with acceptance of responsibility for recovery. Adoption of a disease model was negatively associated with belief in the importance of motivation in recovery. Treatment satisfaction was positively correlated with belief in the importance of treatment and support but not other dimensions. Younger patients tended to accept a lower level of personal responsibility for their condition. The results indicate the alcoholics tend to adopt quite specific beliefs about their condition and that satisfaction with a particular treatment regimen is related to belief in the value of treatment rather than any particular model concerning where responsibility for their condition and recovery from it lies.

Smokers' beliefs about the inability to stop smoking

“…This is consistent with findings for other behavioral problems. For example, when asked about substance-use and non-substance use psychological problems, those who conceptualize a problem as a bad habit/character flaw/personality problem/sin/moral failure rather than a medical/psychological disorder/disease/addiction are less likely to seek treatment (Cunningham et al, 1993; Moyers & Miller, 1993; West & Power, 1995a; Varney et al, 1995; cunningham, Blomqvist, & Cordingley, 2007; Cunningham et al, 1996). More specifically, those who believe biology causes a drug problem or mental illness have more favorable attitudes toward medication whereas those who believe environment causes mental illness have more favorable attitudes toward psychotherapy (Kuppi & Carpiano, 2006; Iselin & Addis, 2003; cunningham et al, 2007; Cunningham et al, 1993).…”

“…Although multi-item scales have been developed to measure perceived causes of the inability to change (Humphreys et al, 1996; Luke, Ribisl, Walton, & Davidson, 2002; Schaler, 1995; West & Power, 1995b), none covered all of the causes we wished to examine nor was adaptable to different problems, plus all were lengthy. Thus, we employed single terms that have been used in prior studies of conceptualizations of tobacco and alcohol use and dependence (Table 1).…”

What is the Worst Thing you could get Hooked on?: Popular Images of Addiction Problems in Contemporary Sweden

“…by Best (1995), many agree that addiction is to some extent and in some sense a socially constructed problem. Thus West (2007), for example, contends that addiction is a social construct with fuzzy borders, yet a condition in which many underlying pathologies and abnormalities become manifest. Put in a different way, even if addiction is not "just" an invention by powerful claims makers, the ways in which a "deviant" substance use or behaviour is defined, how such deviances are reacted to by society, and -thereby -the consequences to the individual of her/his deviance, as well as the long-term trajectory of her/his condition, are strongly influenced by norms and traditions that vary with time and place (Blomqvist 1998a).…”

Population, Professional, and Client Support for Different Models of Managing Addictive Behaviors

“…West and Power (1995) observed that none of the models fit very well with client views on their alcohol dependence. Instead, clients tended to support many kinds of causal attributions.…”