Identifier
etd-0517102-111730
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Sociology
Document Type
Dissertation
Abstract
The transformation of behavior into deviance requires many players, individuals, and institutions invested in the social construction process and its outcomes. Although considered private recreational matters by some, gambling and having sex are gaining spotlight in the addiction arena. With the growing availability of casino entertainment, lotteries, OTB venues, prostitution, internet pornography, and 900 numbers, gambling and sex are interpreted, labeled, and treated by addiction recovery specialists. Using ethnographic methods and face-to-face interviews, I explore a southern community’s institutions and practitioners providing services to gambling and sex addicts. I examine the community’s discourse and its methods for defining and controlling addictive behaviors and addicted people. The research results in a set of typifications therapists use to explain addicted people. I analyze the gender-based frames and explore the ramifications of these frames.
Date
2002
Document Availability at the Time of Submission
Release the entire work immediately for access worldwide.
Recommended Citation
James, M. Kelly, "Pleasure principles: the social construction of gambling and sex addiction treatment" (2002). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 3699.
https://repository.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/3699
Committee Chair
William B. Bankston
DOI
10.31390/gradschool_dissertations.3699