Sociological perspectives on the alcoholism treatment literature since 1940

From a sociological perspective there are many different worlds of alcoholism treatment. The present time may be crucially opportune for sociological research on the characteristics and development of alcoholism treatment. The last few decades have been characterized by an ongoing theoretical and empirical restructuring in a way that can be described as an emergence of a "new reality" in the perception of the problem area. Central assumptions have been challenged, and new concerns have entered the debate. This chapter analyzes some of the developments that led to these theoretical and ideological changes in viewing the alcoholism treatment field. This is undertaken by a quantitative analysis of the alcoholism treatment literature that was conducted some 10 years ago and that covers the period between 1940 and 1972. In hindsight, it seems that this period leading up to the first years of the 1970s is now of special interest, since the pieces for a more holistic alternative restructuring began to emerge during that time.