Addiction as a Social Construction: A Postempirical View

Abstract

I examined the role of society and psychology as its agent in the growing problem of addiciton in America. The social institutions of a given society establish and maintain a character structure unique to a particular era. The quality of that character is reflected in its inhabitants' individual psychological natures as either health or pathology. I examined the philosophical roots of psychology, its theories and their effect on perpetuating current erroneous beliefs about addiction, and psychology's role in finding real solutions.