The disease concept of alcoholism: The persistence of an outmoded scientific paradigm
- 1 October 1988
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Taylor & Francis in Deviant Behavior
- Vol. 9 (4) , 317-332
- https://doi.org/10.1080/01639625.1988.9967789
Abstract
This paper discusses the reasons for the persistence of the disease model of alcoholism in the face of increasing evidence contradicting its basic assumptions. Data from in‐depth interviews with former problem drinkers are used to illustrate the ways in which the disease model: 1) shapes the empirical reality from which data for its support are derived, 2) implies methodological strategies which limit the possibility of its refutation and 3) blinds its supporters to the meaning of anomalous data. Implications for the immediate future of the disease model are discussed.This publication has 12 references indexed in Scilit:
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