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Addiction psychology
The study of substance use disorders and other addictive behaviors, drawing on psychological, biological and social evidence about risk, course and change.
- Type of entry
- Interdisciplinary fieldAn area that draws on psychology together with other disciplines. Types are editorial labels, not an official classification.
- Cluster
- Health and careAssessment, care, health and the specialties built around them.
- Sources opened
- 3 of 30 read as a full page, 3 as selected text or an abstract, 0 not verified.
- Independent review
- Admitted after correctionsClaude Code reviewer agent, separate from the writer, 2026-10-21. 8 claims checked against 3 sources opened by the reviewer.
What it studies
Addiction psychology studies substance use disorders and other addictive behaviors. The National Institute on Drug Abuse describes addiction as a chronic, relapsing disorder with compulsive drug seeking and use despite harm, involving brain circuits for reward, stress and self-control. NIDA treats addiction as equivalent to a severe substance use disorder as defined in DSM-5.
History and people
A small group of psychologists formed the Society of Psychologists in Substance Abuse in 1975. In the early 1980s it became the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors and widened its scope to behaviors such as gambling and eating disorders. Its journal was renamed Psychology of Addictive Behaviors in 1987. On February 26, 1993, the APA Council of Representatives approved a division on addictions as a candidate division, now the Society of Addiction Psychology.
People and documented roles
- W. Miles Cox. Editor of the society's journal from 1981 to 1994
- Herbert J. Freudenberger. Chair of the Ad Hoc Committee on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse of APA Division 42; presented the 1993 proposal
- Presented "Why a Division on Addictions?" to the APA Council of Representatives. [2]
- Daniel L. Yalisove. Coordinator of the 1993 petition
- Coordinated the petition signed by over 700 members that accompanied the proposal. [2]
The sources opened name officers of one American society and do not document the wider scientific and clinical history of addiction research. Women and scholars outside the United States are not covered; the society history lists presidents, but their research contributions were not documented here.
Dated milestones
- 1975Society or organization formed. Year.Small group of psychologists formed the Society of Psychologists in Substance Abuse, a society milestone and not the birth of the field. [2][3]
- 1987Publication. Year.The society's journal was renamed Psychology of Addictive Behaviors. [2][3]
- February 26, 1993Recognition decision. Exact date.APA Council of Representatives approved the addictions group as a candidate division (an APA organizational decision, not the start of the field). [2]
- 2012Event. Year.The division's Collaborative Perspectives on Addiction annual meeting began. [3]
Methods
The sources opened do not describe research designs. NIDA's account covers biological and environmental risk influences. It estimates that genes account for roughly 40 to 60 percent of addiction risk, and it lists family, school and neighborhood factors and peer influence among environmental factors. Protective factors include self-efficacy, parental monitoring and support, good grades and positive relationships.
Training and applications
The Society of Addiction Psychology began its annual Collaborative Perspectives on Addiction meeting in 2012 and reached 1,000 members in 2019. The sources opened do not describe treatment, training routes or credentials. Where a credential matters, titles and licenses are set by regulators in each jurisdiction, not by this guide.
Boundaries and limits
The history above is one society's own account within one American organization, and an APA division is an interest group, not proof of a separate field. Treatment, work outside the United States and the evidence for nondrug addictive behaviors are not covered by the sources opened.
Evidence behind the claims
NIDA describes addiction as a chronic, relapsing disorder marked by compulsive drug seeking and use despite harmful consequences, involving changes in brain circuits for reward, stress and self-control, and a footnote equates the term with severe substance use disorder in DSM-5.
NIDA estimates that genes, including epigenetic effects, account for roughly 40 to 60 percent of addiction risk and notes that developmental stage matters, with teens at greater risk.
NIDA lists environmental factors related to family, school and neighborhood, and peer influence in the teen years, as risk influences, and names self-efficacy, parental monitoring and support, positive relationships and good grades among protective factors.
A small group of psychologists formed the Society of Psychologists in Substance Abuse in 1975; in the early 1980s it was renamed the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors, widening its scope to behaviors such as gambling and eating disorders.
The society's quarterly journal, first called The Bulletin of the SPAB and edited by W. Miles Cox from 1981 to 1994, was renamed Psychology of Addictive Behaviors in 1987.
On February 26, 1993, Herbert J. Freudenberger presented "Why a Division on Addictions?" to the APA Council of Representatives with a petition of over 700 members coordinated by Daniel L. Yalisove, and the Council unanimously approved the group as a candidate division.
The division's Collaborative Perspectives on Addiction annual meeting began in 2012, and the division reached 1,000 members in 2019.
In the Psy101 course
- OpenStax Psychology 2e, section 4.5: Substance Use and AbuseChapter 4, States of Consciousness. Topic reading. Nearest related reading; direct coverage of this field has not been verified.Substance Use and Abuse is the nearest related reading on drug use and dependence.
- OpenStax Psychology 2e, section 14.4: Regulation of StressChapter 14, Stress, Lifestyle, and Health. Topic reading. Nearest related reading; direct coverage of this field has not been verified.Regulation of stress is a nearby reading on coping that overlaps with addiction research.
This is course relevance only. It is not evidence for the historical or practice claims on this page.See the full course map.
Sources and inspection
3 of 3 sources were opened and read at the level shown. A source marked as not verified supports no claim on this page by itself.
- [1]Drug Misuse and AddictionNational Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), Drugs, Brains, and Behavior: The Science of Addiction, 2020. Reference work. Supports the definition of the area.Selected text readRead definitions, risk and protective factor sections through a fetch tool; the page is dated July 2020 and does not discuss treatment.
- [2]History | Society of Addiction PsychologySociety of Addiction Psychology (APA Division 50), undated. Society history. Supports the history.Selected text readRead the history page through a fetch tool: a chapter titled 'A History of Division 50 (Addictions)' by Ray Hanbury Jr., Jalie Tucker and Rudy Vuchinich, condensed by Keith Humphreys, covering 1975 to 1993. The original chapter was not read.
- [3]SoAP Box: President's ColumnSociety of Addiction Psychology (APA Division 50), The Addiction Newsletter, 2019. Society history. Supports the history.Selected text readRead the Fall 2019 column by Linda Carter Sobell through a fetch tool, including its timeline and the statement of the field's scope.
Independent source review: Claude Code reviewer agent, separate from the writer, 2026-10-21. Verdict: Admitted after corrections. Of 8 claims checked, 6 were supported as written, 1 were reworded and 1 were removed.