Public attitudes to the disease concept of alcoholism

Proponents of the disease concept of alcoholism have argued that its dissemination among the general public will promote humanitarian attitudes toward alcoholics. This claim was subjected to empirical scrutiny. A quota sample of 200 members of the general public completed a questionnaire designed to measure beliefs about alcoholism and attitudes toward alcoholics. As predicted, the majority of respondents endorsed a disease formulation. However, examination of the data using correlational and factor analytic techniques indicated that two humanitarian views--expressing sympathetic attitudes toward alcoholics and regarding them as deserving of public funds--were largely independent of endorsing a disease view.