ALCOHOL ABUSE IN THE US AND THE USSR (UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS) - DIVERGENCE AND CONVERGENCE IN POLICY AND IDEOLOGY

• NCJ Number: 68804
• Journal: SOCIAL PSYCHIATRY Volume: 14 Dated: (SPRING 1979) Pages: 207-216
• Author(s): P M ROMAN; P J GEBERT
• Date Published: 1979
• Length: 10 pages
• Grant Number(s): AA-01504
• Sponsoring Agency: New York City Dept of Probation
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: AN EARLIER VERSION OF THIS PAPER WAS PREPARED AT THE MEETINGS OF THE SOUTHERN SOCIOLOGICAL SOCIETY, NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA, APRIL 1, 1978

Annotation

THE DEVELOPMENT OF MAJOR INTERVENTION STRATEGIES TO COMBAT ALCOHOLISM IN THE U.S.S.R. AND THE U.S. ARE EXAMINED AND THEIR DIFFERENT APPROACHES EMPHASIZED.

Abstract

THE MEDICAL MODEL OF REFERENCE, BASED ON THE CONCEPT OF ALCOHOLISM AS AN ILLNESS, CONSTITUTES THE OFFICIAL GOVERNMENTAL STANCE IN THE U.S. THIS MODEL IS INCREASINGLY INCORPORATED INTO OFFICIAL REACTIONS TO ALCOHOL PROBLEMS IN THE U.S.S.R., BUT A STRONG ELEMENT OF THE MORAL FRAME OF REFERENCE, WHICH ASSUMES PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY OF AN ALCOHOLIC, REMAINS FORMALLY INTERMINGLED WITH THE MEDICAL DEFINITIONS. THE PERSISTENCE OF THE JUDGMENTAL ELEMENT RESULTS FROM THE SOVIET SUSPICION THAT ALCOHOLISM IS AN EXPRESSION OF ANTI-COMMUNISM. AS A RESULT, THE U.S. PLACES EMPHASIS ON THE HEALTH COSTS OF ALCOHOL ABUSE, WHILE SOVIET UNION EMPHASIZES THE CONNECTION BETWEEN ALCOHOL ABUSE AND CRIME. HOWEVER, THE PREVENTIVE APPROACHES ARE SIMILAR, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE PUNITIVE ELEMENT IN SOVIET STRATEGIES. PROGRAMS FOR THE IDENTIFICATION AND TREATMENT OF EMPLOYED ALCOHOLICS, WHICH LINK POOR JOB PERFORMANCE TO THIS PROBLEM, HAVE DEVELOPED IN BOTH COUNTRIES. THESE PROGRAMS SUPPORT THE MEDICAL MODEL AND ASSIGN RESPONSIBILITY FOR DEALING WITH ALCOHOLICS TO THE MEDICAL PROFESSION. THIS PRECLUDES CHALLENGES TO BOTH NATIONS' POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC ORGANIZATION. IN VIEW OF THIS, INSTITUTIONALIZATION RATHER THAN THE REDUCTION OF ALCOHOLISM IS PREDICTED FOR BOTH COUNTRIES, ALTHOUGH THE SUCCESS OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WARRANTS MORE OPTIMISTIC PROGNOSES FOR THE U.S. A LIST OF 43 REFERENCES IS INCLUDED.