Am J Psychiatry 1975; 132:154-157
Copyright © 1975 by American Psychiatric Association
The addict, abstinence, and the family
J Schwartzman
The drug addict generally has an extremely difficult time terminating drug
use and remaining abstinent. A partial explanation can be found in an
investigation of the relative meaning of the drug for the addict within his
social context rather than viewing the drug simply as a pharmacological
agent. The idea that addiction is a social phenomenon within the addicts
family suggests a relationship between the functioning of the families of
addicts and their inability to tolerate abstinence. Because the abuse of
heroin or barbiturates by one family member can result in "rewards" for all
family members, the family, in behaving as if the addict cannot control his
drug use, functions in such a way as to reinforce the addiction.
