title: Physicians' Beliefs about the nature of addiction: a survey of primary care physicians and psychiatrists.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Society debates whether addiction is a disease, a response to psychological woundedness, or moral failing.
  
  
  METHODS
  We surveyed a national sample of 1427 US primary care physicians (PCPs) and 487 psychiatrists, asking "In your judgment, to what extent is alcoholism/drug addiction each of the following? A) a disease B) a response to psychological woundedness C) a result of moral failings."
  
  
  RESULTS
  The response rate was 63% for PCPs and 64% for psychiatrists. More psychiatrists than PCPs consider addiction a disease (64% versus 56%). Some PCPs (31%) and psychiatrists (27%) attribute addiction to psychological woundedness. More psychiatrists than PCPs said addiction is "not at all" due to moral failings (55% versus 39%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The disease model for addiction is prominent among physicians, but exists alongside beliefs that addiction is a response to psychological woundedness, or a result of moral failings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA. rlawrence@uchicago.edu
authors.forename: Ryan E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Lawrence
authors.forename: Kenneth A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Rasinski
authors.forename: John D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Yoon
authors.forename: Farr A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Curlin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D016739:Behavior, Addictive; D003469:Culture; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D058007:Physicians, Primary Care / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011570:Psychiatry / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders