Is “Loss of Control” Always a Consequence of Addiction?

Abstract

Research into addiction has a long history although there has always been much debate as to what the key components of addiction are. Irrespective of the theory and model of addiction, most theorizing on addiction tends to assume that loss of control is central to addiction. This column challenges such notions by arguing that there are a minority of individuals who appear to be addicted to a behavior but do not necessarily appear to display any loss of control. Six core components of addiction comprises of salience, mood modification, tolerance, withdrawal symptoms, conflict and relapse. One of the observations that can be made by examining these six criteria is that loss of control is not one of the necessary components for an individual to be defined as addicted to an activity. Some addictions particularly behavioral addictions such as workaholism where the person may be addicted without necessarily losing control. one of the reasons that workaholism raises interesting theoretical and conceptual issues concerning the loss of control is that it is an example of an addiction where the goal/end is itself a form of control. In essence, workaholics appear to make poor choices and/or decisions that have wide-reaching detrimental consequences in their lives. However, at present we lack evidence that they would be unable to work in a more healthy way. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)