Alcohol consumption and pain phobia: toward a unifying theory of alcoholism

An attempt is made to contribute toward a unifying theory of alcoholism with the concept of "pain phobia" as its central factor. A brief theoretical exposition of pain phobia is offered and results of an empirical study are presented which lend considerable support to the position that pain phobia may be a central factor underlying alcoholism. The research utilizes the Pain Phobia Scale (PPS) as the measure of pain phobia and finds that pain phobia is present to a significantly greater degree in problem drinkers than a norm group and that pain phobia also discriminates non-problem drinkers in the degree of their consumption of alcohol. Suggestions are made for how the concept of pain phobia and the PPS can be useful in the treatment and prevention of alcoholism. The possible relationship between pain phobia and all addictions is also considered.