| Course | PAC 320 Psychology of Addiction |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 2 |
| Paper type | Research review |
| Length | About 1,042 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Aspen University |
| Program | Psychology and Addiction Studies |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for PAC 320 Module 2
Chronic Illness or Common Recovery? What Longitudinal and Population Research Says About the Course of Addiction
Student Name
Psychology and Addiction Studies Program, Aspen University
PAC 320: Psychology of Addiction
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Chronic Illness or Common Recovery? What Longitudinal and Population Research Says About the Course of Addiction
At a family education night at Cedar Hill Recovery Center, the composite Asheville program in these papers, a father asked the question many parents bring: "Our son is nineteen. Is he going to be fighting this for the rest of his life?" Staff gave different answers. One counselor said addiction is a chronic disease that never goes away. Another said most young people grow out of it. Both answers have research behind them. This paper reviews that research and explains why it seems to point in two directions. Cedar Hill and the families are invented for teaching, and the studies are real.
Sixty Years of Follow-Up
Vaillant (2003) reported on two groups of men followed from adolescence or young adulthood for up to sixty years: a group of college men and a group of men who grew up in inner-city Boston. Among men who developed alcohol abuse, the course was often long. Many continued to have problems for decades, and alcohol abuse was associated with earlier death. Some men achieved stable abstinence, and among those who had been abstinent for at least three years, relapse became uncommon. Return to controlled drinking was less stable over the long term. Vaillant's picture is of a condition that, for many people, lasts a long time but can end, with long abstinence protecting those who achieve it.
Recovery in a National Sample
Dawson et al. (2005) analyzed a national survey of American adults that asked about alcohol dependence at any time before the past year and about drinking in the past year. Among people who had met criteria for alcohol dependence before the past year, only about a quarter were still dependent in the past year. The others were in partial remission, drinking at levels that carried risk without dependence, drinking at low-risk levels or abstaining. Only about a quarter of the people with past dependence had ever received any treatment, including mutual help groups. Most recovery, in other words, had occurred without treatment.
Most People Quit
Heyman (2013) went further, arguing that addiction is better understood in terms of choice. Drawing on national surveys, he noted that most people who meet criteria for drug dependence at some point no longer do so years later, and that remission rates are high, often by about age thirty. He argued that people tend to quit when the costs of use rise, such as when they take on family or work responsibilities, and that the persistence seen in clinical populations reflects the particular people who seek treatment rather than the typical course.
How Many Have Recovered?
Kelly et al. (2017) took a different approach, asking a nationally representative sample of adults a single screening question: whether they had once had a problem with drugs or alcohol and no longer did. Roughly nine in every hundred said yes, a share that scales to more than twenty million Americans. Those who said yes described many routes out. Some had gone through formal treatment and some had relied on mutual help groups or recovery community services, but a large share had used none of these and had changed on their own. Alcohol was the substance most often named as the main problem, with cannabis, opioids and stimulants following.
Why the Pictures Differ
The difference is sometimes called the clinician's illusion. Clinicians see people at their most severe and often see the same people repeatedly, while people who recover quickly rarely return to clinics. Clinicians therefore form an impression of addiction as more persistent than it is across the whole population. Population surveys correct that impression, but they include many people whose problems were milder than those of the clients Cedar Hill serves.
| Feature | Clinical studies and treatment samples | Population surveys |
|---|---|---|
| Who is studied | People who sought treatment | Everyone, including those never treated |
| Severity | Usually more severe, with co-occurring problems | Wide range, many mild or moderate |
| Typical finding | Long courses, repeated relapse | High rates of remission, often without treatment |
| What it answers | What happens to people severe enough to seek help | What happens to most people who ever meet criteria |
| Risk of misreading | Assuming all addiction looks like clinic cases | Assuming every case will resolve on its own |
What Shapes the Course
The studies also point to factors that shape how long addiction lasts. Severity matters: people with more criteria, earlier onset and co-occurring mental health problems tend to have longer courses. Resources matter: work, stable housing and supportive relationships make recovery more likely and give people more to lose by continuing to use. Age matters, since many people reduce or stop use as they take on adult roles in their twenties. And time in recovery matters, since Vaillant found that abstinence became more stable the longer it lasted. These factors help explain why two nineteen-year-olds with similar use can have very different futures, and they point to what families and treatment can influence: supports, roles and continued care.
What the Research Means for Families
The research supports a message that is both realistic and hopeful. For many people, especially those whose problems are milder and who have work, family and other resources, addiction resolves, often in young adulthood. For people with more severe addiction, like many who come to residential treatment, the course may be longer, with several attempts at recovery, and continued care helps. Long periods of abstinence become increasingly stable, as Vaillant found. Recovery is common, and it happens through many pathways.
For the father's question, the honest answer is that his son's future is not fixed. His age, his severity, his supports and his engagement in recovery will shape it, and the research gives real grounds for hope.
Conclusion
Research on the course of addiction seems to tell two stories. Vaillant shows long, often chronic courses among men with alcohol problems, while the national surveys from Dawson and colleagues and Kelly and colleagues, read with Heyman's argument, find that most people who ever meet criteria eventually stop, many without any treatment. The clinician's illusion explains the difference: treatment samples and population samples describe different people. Families deserve both truths: addiction can be serious and long, and most people who have it eventually recover.
References
Dawson, D. A., Grant, B. F., Stinson, F. S., Chou, P. S., Huang, B., & Ruan, W. J. (2005). Recovery from DSM-IV alcohol dependence: United States, 2001-2002. Addiction, 100(3), 281-292. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1360-0443.2004.00964.x
Heyman, G. M. (2013). Addiction and choice: Theory and new data. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 4, Article 31. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2013.00031
Kelly, J. F., Bergman, B. G., Hoeppner, B. B., Vilsaint, C., & White, W. L. (2017). Prevalence and pathways of recovery from drug and alcohol problems in the United States population: Implications for practice, research, and policy. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 181, 162-169. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2017.09.028
Vaillant, G. E. (2003). A 60-year follow-up of alcoholic men. Addiction, 98(8), 1043-1051. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1360-0443.2003.00422.x
What the PAC 320 Module 2 instructions ask for
Research on the causes and course of addiction is the second module of PAC 320, and assignments often ask you to review longitudinal and population studies and explain what they mean for clients and families. Rely on the Module 2 instructions in your Aspen course; the center and families are invented. Present major studies with their designs and findings. Address the apparent conflict between chronic and recovery findings. Explain why samples drawn from treatment may differ from population samples. Draw conclusions that are honest about both risk and hope. Apply them to a real audience, give every study an APA 7 reference and report the sample each study drew on. Write the conclusion so a worried parent could follow it.
How the PAC 320 Module 2 example is put together
A father asks whether his son, nineteen, will struggle forever. Vaillant's Addiction article reports sixty years of follow-up of college and inner-city men, finding chronic courses for many and durable abstinence after several years. Dawson and colleagues' Addiction study of a national survey reports how many people with past dependence had recovered and how few had been treated. Heyman's Frontiers in Psychiatry article argues that addiction often ends by about age thirty. Kelly and colleagues' Drug and Alcohol Dependence study reports national recovery prevalence and pathways. A five-row table explains the clinician's illusion. Guidance for families pairs realism about risk with evidence that recovery is common and comes through many pathways.
Reading the PAC 320 Module 2 grading rubric
Research review papers earn credit for accurate reporting of designs and findings and for reconciling conflicting evidence. This example explains why studies of people in treatment and surveys of the general population tell different stories, using the clinician's illusion, a concept that resolves the apparent conflict. Each study's sample is described so readers can judge what it shows. The guidance for families is balanced, neither promising that young people simply grow out of addiction nor warning that it is always lifelong. The table makes the reconciliation clear, and the conclusion speaks directly to the father's question in language a family could take home. Each study's limits are noted beside its findings.
PAC 320 Module 2 help from the desk
Research reviews often present one picture of addiction, chronic or self-limiting, as the whole truth. Present both and explain why they differ. Describe each study's sample, since treatment samples and population samples answer different questions. Report numbers accurately with their sources. Avoid overstating natural recovery; many people do struggle for years, and some die. Avoid overstating chronicity; many people recover, often without treatment. Apply findings to the audience you are writing for. Explain technical ideas, such as the clinician's illusion, in plain language. Keep a sentence that tells families what they can actually do with the findings, such as supporting continued care.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Aspen University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
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- PAC 320 Module 6: Maintenance and Relapse Prevention
- PAC 320 Module 7: Couples and Families
- PAC 320 Module 8: Children, Adolescents and People in Recovery
- PAC 110 Module 7: Systems of Psychotherapy in Addiction Practice
- PAC 120 Module 3: Attending, Observing and Questioning
- PAC 102 Module 4: Substance Use on College Campuses
- PAC 405 Module 2: Relationships With Parents, Teachers and Other Adults
PAC 320 Module 2 questions, answered
What does PAC 320 Module 2 usually ask for?
Aspen's PAC 320 covers research on the causes and course of addiction here, so reviewing longitudinal and population studies and what they mean is typical. Check your Module 2 prompt.
Is alcoholism a lifelong condition?
For some. Vaillant found long, often chronic courses among men with alcohol problems, but Dawson and colleagues found most people with past dependence were no longer dependent.
Do people recover from addiction without treatment?
Many do. Dawson and colleagues found that only a minority of people who had recovered from alcohol dependence had ever received treatment.
Where can I find a free PAC 320 Module 2 sample paper?
Read it free on this page: research on the course of addiction reconciled for a family audience, with a table explaining why studies disagree.
How many Americans have recovered from a drug or alcohol problem?
Kelly and colleagues estimated about 9 percent of American adults, more than twenty million people, reported having resolved a significant drug or alcohol problem.