The prevailing concept or model of addiction in the United States is the __________.

The prevailing concept or model of addiction in the United States is the __________.

• A. Moral model
• B. Disease model
• C. Deviant model
• D. Social learning model

Answer: (B)

Addiction is best understood as a chronic brain disease. This view is the prevailing one in the United States because ongoing drug use produces lasting changes in brain circuits that govern reward, stress, and decision-making, helping explain why compulsive use continues despite harm and why relapse is common. Recognizing addiction as a medical condition supports treatment approaches that combine medical care with psychosocial support, including medication-assisted treatment, counseling, and long-term management, rather than relying on punishment alone. This perspective is endorsed by major medical and public health organizations and has shaped policy, research, and clinical practice in the U.S. while other viewpoints—seeing addiction as a moral failing, a deviation from norms, or purely a learned behavior—offer useful alternative lenses but do not align with the broad neurobiological and clinical evidence that underpins the disease model.

Addiction is best understood as a chronic brain disease. This view is the prevailing one in the United States because ongoing drug use produces lasting changes in brain circuits that govern reward, stress, and decision-making, helping explain why compulsive use continues despite harm and why relapse is common. Recognizing addiction as a medical condition supports treatment approaches that combine medical care with psychosocial support, including medication-assisted treatment, counseling, and long-term management, rather than relying on punishment alone. This perspective is endorsed by major medical and public health organizations and has shaped policy, research, and clinical practice in the U.S. while other viewpoints—seeing addiction as a moral failing, a deviation from norms, or purely a learned behavior—offer useful alternative lenses but do not align with the broad neurobiological and clinical evidence that underpins the disease model.