Abnormal Psychology

T

he musical group the Beatles formed in 1957 and soared

to international acclaim in 1963. The band’s celebrity was

so great that the four members—John Lennon, Paul

McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr—found that

they were essentially prisoners in their hotel rooms when on

tour. Frenzied fans would try to steal into the rooms, go-

ing so far as to lower themselves down from the hotel roof!

At Beatles’ concerts, fans screamed so loudly that the band

members could not hear themselves sing and play over the

din. Sick of it all, the Beatles stopped touring in 1966 and

just recorded music in the studio. Many of their songs broke

all of the conventions of rock-and-roll music, and the Be-

atles developed the fi rst themed rock album with Sgt. Pepper’s

Lonely Hearts Club Band. The album practically reeked of

drug use and the band members then became famous both

for their music and for their lifestyles—setting a model for a

generation that experimented with mind-altering drugs. By

1968, however, tensions among the four band members had

become severe, and they reached the breaking point in 1970,

when the group officially dissolved. Beneath the musical

history of the Beatles is a story of substance use, abuse, and

dependence that illustrates the focus of this chapter.

Substance Use, Abuse,

and Dependence

The Beatles used some drugs because that was what their peers did.

For instance, almost all boys—and some girls—their age growing up

in Liverpool, England smoked cigarettes. It was simply what was

done. Similarly, the young band members drank alcohol; again, doing

so was the norm. Sometimes they used a drug specifi cally for the

effect it brought, such as when they took “uppers” (stimulants) to

stay awake when performing late at night. When they toured in the

early 1960s, they took drugs to relieve the monotony of life on

the road; they would swallow a pill, “just to see what would happen”

(Norman, 1997, p. 244). A few years later, they took “acid” (LSD)

to help them understand the meaning of life and attain enlightenment

and peace.

381

Substance Use Disorders

CHAPTER 9 Substance Use Disorders

Chapter Outline

Substance Use, Abuse, and Dependence

Substance Use Versus Intoxication

Substance Abuse and Dependence

Culture and Context

Stimulants

What Are Stimulants?

Understanding Stimulants

Depressants

What Are Depressants?

Understanding Depressants

Other Abused Substances

What Are Other Abused Substances?

Understanding Other Abused Substances

Feedback Loops in Action:

Understanding Eating Disorders

Treating Substance Use Disorders

Goals of Treatment

Targeting Neurological Factors

Targeting Psychological Factors

Targeting Social Factors

Feedback Loops in Treatment:

Substance Use Disorders

Richard Tuschman/Stock Illustration Source