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Two myths of addiction: the addictive personality and the issue of free choice
Author(s) -
Kerr John S.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
human psychopharmacology: clinical and experimental
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.461
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1099-1077
pISSN - 0885-6222
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1099-1077(199602)11:1+<s9::aid-hup747>3.0.co;2-6
Subject(s) - addiction , psychology , personality , mythology , social psychology , psychiatry , philosophy , theology
This short review paper examines two aspects of addiction controversies: whether there is such an entity as an addictive personality, and the question of whether free choice is involved in substance use. The former is part of an argument with a long history, with the case for the existence of an addictive personality being put more often, particularly in the USA. The latter is a more recent development in the debate that raises important issues in the research on substance use and addition. It is concluded that there is no evidence for the existence of a personality type that is prone to addiction, and that free choice can be seen to be a part of substance use, i.e. the compulsion element is lacking. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.