Etiologies of Excessive Behaviour: A Study of Non-Professional Peoples' Beliefs

Abstract

The term ‘addiction’ is commonly used and abused. There is no universal agreement about its components and there is much debate about the activities that may be embraced as addictive. Recent developments into non-chemical (behavioural) addictions suggest that almost any behaviour whether involving the ingestion of a drug or not may be potentially addictive. This study concerned the lay perceptions and beliefs of 138 non-professional people about etiologies of seventeen different types of excessive behaviour including nine non-chemical (behavioural) activities. Results demonstrated that for most activities people hold similar views about the etiologies of behavioural excess. On the whole, people tended to view excessive drug ingested behaviours as physiological addictions most of which were additionally viewed as diseases. Non-chemical (behavioural) excesses were primarily viewed as psychological addictions, some of which were additionally viewed as moral weaknesses.

The 23 items from Schuckit (1984) were administered to 156 medical students and an 11-item questionnaire was derived from a factor analysis of their responses. It measured six expectancy factors; (1) ability to perform after alcohol, (2) low mood, (3) arousal, (4) dizziness, (5) stomach symptoms and (6) heart symptoms. This was then administered to 90 male subjects who were going to receive alcohol in a balanced-placebo design. For these subjects, “Able to perform” was the largest prior expectancy factor and in ratings of actual current state after alcohol or placebo it was reduced by alcohol consumption. The other items combined to form a single factor “Side effects,” which, despite subjects' expectations, was unaffected by alcohol consumption. It is suggested that intoxication is not unidimensional and that this brief questionnaire may be used to control for subjects' expectancies.

Key Words:

• Addiction etiology
• excessive behaviours
• lay beliefs