[Is "the resistance to negative reinforcement" a feature of alcohol dependence syndrome?].
In 1979, "Alcoholism Diagnosis Committee, the Ministry of Health and Welfare" established the diagnostic criteria for alcohol dependence syndrome, which included "the resistance to negative reinforcement". The author raises a question about this criterion which indicates the condition that "an individual continues to drink despite alcohol-related physical diseases, rejection by his/her family or economic poverty and drinking-related criminal problem." The author defines this condition not as "resistance to negative reinforcement" but as "resistance to punishment." Furthermore, the author can not find the data supporting that "the resistance to negative reinforcement" in the correct sense exists in the individuals with alcohol dependence syndrome. In a theoretical sense, an opposite idea seems to exist. There is an observed fact that can be regarded as a phenomenon that explains the involvement of "negative reinforcement" in enhancement of psychological dependence as in the case of the secondary development of psychological dependence. Consequently, the author would have to say that defining "the resistance to negative reinforcement" as one of common features of alcohol dependence syndrome or one of diagnostic criteria for alcohol dependence syndrome is inappropriate.
Kato
Shin
S
Kato Clinic, 1-5-18 Kitafukashi, Matsumoto, Nagano 390-0872, Japan.
D019973:Alcohol-Related Disorders; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D003415:Crime; D005195:Family Relations; D006801:Humans; D011203:Poverty; D011678:Punishment; D012015:Reference Standards; D012054:Reinforcement, Psychology; D012059:Rejection, Psychology