Coercion into Alcoholism Treatment: Meanings for the Disease Concept of Alcoholism

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Abstract
Selected literature is first reviewed examining the relationship between the increased use of coercion as motivation for alcoholism treatment entry and the goals of alcoholism treatment with the general conclusion reached that the increasing use of coercion is shifting the practice and ideology of alcoholism treatment. Second, criminally referred, volunteers and DWI clients in one state's publicly funded alcoholism treatment are compared on the basic precepts of the disease model of alcoholism with the general conclusion that as the operational definition of “alcoholic” has widened to include the universe of alcohol problems, there are major discrepancies between those traditionally treated for alcoholism and the newer clientele. The implications of this shift are discussed in terms of the transformation of the social function of alcoholism treatment.