Research on treatment of drinking problems. Importance of cultural factors

This article is an amalgam of three elements: my own clinical perspectives which have evolved over two decades as medical student, intern, resident, family practitioner and psychiatrist; my sociocultural and clinical research on this topic over the last decade; and a review of the related literature. Three items will be covered: difficulties with terminology and with limited or flawed research in the field; a model for the cultural concomitants of alcoholism; and an analysis of cultural factors in treatment. Since the literature specific to alcoholism alone is sparse, and since many sociocultural aspects of addiction are relevant to this topic, reports on both alcoholism and drug addiction have been included.