The Consciousness of Addiction: Toward a General Theory of Compulsive Consumption

This article reviews and integrates recent theories of addiction drawn from a diverse set of disciplines-consumer behavior, medicine, sociology, psychiatry, and psychology-to provide a comprehensive framework for understanding the etiology of addiction and other compulsive consumer behaviors. Interp...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of consumer research 1992-09, Vol.19 (2), p.155-179
Main Author: Hirschman, Elizabeth C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Addiction
Addictions
Alcohol drinking
Alcoholic beverages
Alcoholism
Cigarette smoking
Cocaine
Consciousness
Consumer behavior
Consumer research
Consumption
Dependence
Disease
Drug abuse
Drug addiction
Marijuana
Medicine
Smoking
Smoking cessation
Studies
Citations: Items that cite this one
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Summary:This article reviews and integrates recent theories of addiction drawn from a diverse set of disciplines-consumer behavior, medicine, sociology, psychiatry, and psychology-to provide a comprehensive framework for understanding the etiology of addiction and other compulsive consumer behaviors. Interpretive material from personal interviews with addicted and nonaddicted drug users is then used to illustrate the consciousness of addictive consumption. Two a priori themes-serial/simultaneous addictions and personal crises/role transitions-and five emergent themes-relapse, deception, dysfunctional families, suicide, and boundaries-are discussed.
ISSN:0093-5301
1537-5277
DOI:10.1086/209294