Jellinek's typology of alcoholism. Some historical antecedents.

Abstract

ODERN CO CEPTIONS of alcoholism as a disease have evolved from a variety of sources. But of all of these, the ideas pioneered by E. M. Jellinek and his co-workers probably have been the most influential. In the years since Repeal, Jellinek did as much as anyone to advance the notion that alcoholism is a treatable disease, and he offered the post-Prohibition era its most plausible xplanation of the condition's etiology. Jellinek himself cautioned that his theory was only an hypothesis, without empirical foundation, and that it was not sacrosanct: It would do the time being he wrote in 1960, but not indefinitely (1, p. 159). But despite a number of such warnings, much of the alcohol studies field adopted his ideas as virtual gospel; and over the years even dissenting voices have generally acknowledged the wide appeal of Jellinek's formulations. In fact, it is not too much to say that for the last quarter of a century, the work of this extraordinary individual has framed most aspects of the current debate on the nature of alcoholism and its treatment.