David,

This will not be very helpful, but some 25+ years of hanging around A.A.
and listening to the almost infinitely varied stories of its members has
convinced me that an alcoholic drinks because he/she is an alcoholic.
There is a classic article by Selden Bacon, "Alcoholics do not drink,"
in the Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science.
1958; 315:55-64.  I suggest all interested in your topic read it (though
it is, of course, unfortunately, not yet available online).

Once exposed to alcohol, an alcoholic drinks not to "feel good" or for
any other reason than that the alcoholic is trying to "feel normal."  It
strikes me that very few non-alcoholics (e.g. James Royce, S.J., Daniel
J. Anderson of Hazelden) have ever been able to grasp that.

  I will not even approach the question of "what is an 'alcoholic'?"
except to say that what I said in the par. above may be a pretty good
answer.

ernie kurtz


David Fahey wrote:

> Has there been comparative study of the reasons for drinking/drug use?
> Class, sex, race, religion, age, ethnicity, in different countries, at
> different times of the day and week, and in different historical
> periods? And, of course, different kinds of alcohol and different kinds
> of drugs, whether usually licit or illicit?  As I write this post, I
> realize how complicated comparisons can be!
>
>
>