title: Alcoholic denial: a biopsychological interpretation.
abstract: A theory of the origins and mechanisms of denial, which is frequently characteristic of alcoholics, is proposed on the basis of a biopsychological rather than a psychodynamic model of emotion. The biopsychological approach views denial as a consequence of a developmental defect in the apperception of interoceptive stimuli and in the appraisal of the significance of environmental events. Three hypotheses must be substantiated in order to support this theory: (1) alcoholics were physiologically unstable in arousal regulation; (2) alcoholics cannot cognitively discriminate interoceptive cues and physiological states; and (3) alcoholics cognitively underestimate emotion-laden events in their lives. Research which demonstrates the validity of these hypotheses is reviewed and implications for future research and treatment strategies are discussed.
mesh_terms: D000437:Alcoholism / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D000987:Antisocial Personality Disorder / Q000503:physiopathology; D001143:Arousal; D001341:Autonomic Nervous System / Q000503:physiopathology; D003071:Cognition; D003463:Cues; D003717:Denial, Psychological; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological; D004777:Environment; D006801:Humans; D006948:Hyperkinesis / Q000503:physiopathology; D008954:Models, Biological; D008960:Models, Psychological