Feel free to copy this questionnaire, answer the questions, and send me your answers. I would be very interested in your answers.
This questionnaire is designed to determine the prevailing attitudes, beliefs, knowledge, and definitions concerning the general area of addictions of a random sample of ordinary people. The present questionnaire will present general queries into attitudes, biases about addictions, and several other medical diseases more widely accepted as biologically caused. When I use the word addiction, I mean any addiction to drugs, alcohol, beliefs, and behaviors. This questionnaire will remain totally confidential. A second follow-up questionnaire will later seek to determine the responders' more specific personal experiences in the area of addictions.
The purpose of this study is to discover the prevailing attitudes of ordinary people to common addiction situations. The questions will include addictions probably not considered as such by most of the participants and will help to clarify what behaviors people think are addictions, what is their concept of an addiction, and a little about what they think determines addictions and what makes someone into an addict. General personal socioeconomic, religious, racial, and political questions will be added in order to characterize the diversity of the participants in these areas and to reveal other particular attitudes which have a "spiritual" bearing on their attitudes about disease. All questions will be optional. The purpose of the questionnaires will be described as studying "attitudes and beliefs concerning diseases, behaviors and addictions." Each participant will be given a code number for documentation purposes and to maintain confidentiality. All information will be coded under your ID Number listed on top of page. Name is optional. Please take your time answering these questions; there is no rush. Complete the questionnaire as thoroughly as possible. Something like this has never been done and will be invaluable for future generations. Thank you. If you have any questions, please e-mail the answers.
Questionnaire I
General personal identification questions (optional) - write in or circle correct answer. Use separate page(s) to explain your answers more fully if needed. Answer as thoroughly as desired. We want to know exactly what you think about all questions. Please answer as many as you can or will. Do not go backwards to change answers you have already answered. You will be asked about how your attitudes and beliefs have changed at the end of the questionnaire.
Age:
Sex:
Race:
Occupation:
Income:
Religion:
Level of education:
Political party or leaning (Republican, Democratic, other)
Do you consider yourself radical left, liberal, conservative, radical right, middle of the road, etc.?
Do you think you presently have a good understanding of addictions? 0 (low) -100 (excellent)
Do you think anyone has a good understanding of addictions? Who?
Are you religious? (fundamentalist, very, moderate, mildly, not at all)
Do you believe in some sort of god (or higher power)?
Are you superstitious?
Do you believe in creationism?
Do you believe in evolution?
Do you believe in the scientific method?
Do you believe that the Bible is literally true, historically true, a nice story to learn from, or nonsense?
Do you believe that God (anytime I mention God in a question, I also mean a higher power) exerts control over events in the past, present, and future?
Do you believe that God intervenes in human outcomes?
Do you believe that God treats humans the same or differently from other animals?
Do you believe that man is created in God's image? What does this mean to you?
Do you believe that psychology and/or psychiatry understand human nature?
Do you believe that your religion's authorities understand human nature?
Does anyone understand human nature?
Does God treat you differently from any other person?
Does God treat your religion differently from any other religion?
Does God treat your country differently from any other country?
Does God treat your race differently from any other race?
If you are a recovering addict of any kind, does God keep you sober?
This is the information age, right? Let's see how you use information.
What do the following words mean to you in terms of level of certainty for using them to make a decision, and what information (actual documented knowledge in some published literature or verbal communication from somebody) criteria do you use to define:
I know (what does the word knowledge mean to you?):
I believe (what does the word belief mean to you?):
I think (what does the word thought mean to you?):
I feel (what does the word feel mean to you?):
It's my opinion (what does the word opinion mean to you?):
Put the phrase number in the sentences below concerning the level of certainty you personally need for deciding it's the right thing to do in the following circumstances, 1) I know it's right, 2) I believe it's right, 3) I think it's right, 4) I feel that it's right, 5) It is my opinion that it's right, when making a decision about:
Sending your child to war____, to jail for using drugs____, to a religious school____, to a mental hospital____, to a medical hospital____.
Sending someone else's child to war____, to jail for using drugs____, to a religious school____, to a mental hospital____, to a medical hospital____.
If you use someone else's judgment to make these decisions, whose (pick as many different experts as you deem appropriate) would you use, and which of the above five words do you need them to use when making their decision for your child or someone else's child:
Please give your answers on a scale of 0-10 with 0 being "never" and 10 "always correct." You may explain further if you wish.
Do you believe that scientific "experts" are correct?
Do you believe that psychology "experts" are correct?
Do you believe that religious "experts" are correct?
Do you believe that psychic "experts" are correct?
Do you believe that medical "experts" are correct?
Do you believe that psychiatric "experts" are correct?
Do you believe that TV and/or newspaper "experts" are correct?
Do you believe that political "experts" are correct?
Can any of the above experts predict future human behavior better than you can ahead of time?
Which one(s) and how?
Can any of the above experts predict past or future behavior(s) in an accused person better than you can in a criminal court proceeding? Which one(s) and how?
Apportion the blame in terms of percentage for the person's problem or behavior listed below.
On a scale from 0-100 with 0 being never responsible and 100 always responsible, rate the level of direct personal responsibility for these particular human occurrences?
1. A stroke___2. A heart attack___3. Woman with black eye___4. An automobile accident___ 5. High blood pressure___6. Leukemia___7. AIDS___8. Tuberculosis___9. Diabetes___10. Drinks a quart of booze a day___11. Depression___12. Pregnancy___13. Survivor of drowning___14. Homosexuality___15. Arthritis___16. Strep. Throat___17. Uses heroin every day___18. Broken leg___19. Suicide___20. Getting divorced___21. Homelessness___22. Bankruptcy___23. Punches wife___24. Colon cancer___25. Survivor of plane crash___26. Food poisoning___27. Commits murder___28. Illegal drug overdose___ 29. Uses Valium every day___30. Checking account overdraft___31. Foreclosure of house due to gambling___32. Adultery___33. Lung cancer___34. Nervous breakdown___35. Joins a gang___36. Steals something from work___37. Caught watching someone undress in their home___38. Loses their wallet___39. Forgets to pay taxes___40. Lies about adultery___41. Lies about drug use___42. Lies on income taxes___43. Lies about age___44. Weighs 431 pounds___45. Headache___46. Uses Prozac every day___47. Gets undressed in front of open window___48. Stabs boyfriend___49. Has sex with 20 different people at work___50. Eats a quart of ice-cream every night___51. 24-year-old takes a cathartic every day___52. Laughs so hard he wets his pants___53. Boss pinches job applicant's behind___54. Goes to bar every night for a beer with the guys___ 55. Addiction to sleeping pills___56. Drinks 10 cups of coffee per day___57. Forgets wedding anniversary___58. Kidney dialysis___59. Lies about not being married___ 60. Masturbates in school___61. Has sex with daughter___62. Schizophrenic___63. Skin rash___64. Fights in bar___65. Feels anxious___66. Leprosy___67. Fired from job___68.Smokes 2 packs of cigarettes per day___69. Spends 3 or 4 hours a day on Internet chat sites___70. Shoots ex-lover___71. 21 year old college graduate weighs 65 pounds___72. Illegal drugs in random urine at work___
Which of the above is definitely an addiction (list the numbers)?
Which of the above might be an addiction?
Which may be associated with an addiction?
Here's a list of some possible addictions. Use these to answer the following questions. Use their numbers as the answers. 1-alcohol, 2-heroin, 3-marijuana, 4-cocaine and crack, 5-cigarettes, 6-addictive, prescription, mood-altering drugs such as barbiturates, sleeping pills, Quaaludes, Valium, Librium, etc. (I refer to 1-6 as mood-altering drugs in future questions), 7-sex (including voyeurism, exhibitionism, unwanted sexual touching or assault, etc.), 8-workaholism, 9-people (codependency), 10-gambling, 11-food, 12-bulimia, 13-anorexia, 14-exercise, 15-racism, 16-self-mutilation, 17-money, 18-membership in cult, 19-religious fanaticism, 20-sky diving, mountain climbing, race car driving, and other risky activities, 21-compulsive shopping, 22-superstition, 23-spouse abuse by either gender, 24-violence, 25-theft, 26-lying, 27-gangs, 28-power over people (guru, dictator, police officers, politician).
Which [list numbers] of the above behaviors is grounds for:
1. Divorce
2. Firing from job despite doing good work as:
Doctor
Garbage Hauler
President of the USA
Lawyer
Policeman
Accountant
Gardener
Teacher
Traveling Salesperson
Nurse
Professional Baseball Player
Airplane Pilot
Air Force Pilot
School Crossing Guard
Politician
Pharmacist
Stock Broker
3. Criminal charges and/or arrest
4. Boss turning over to police
5. Public humiliation
6. TV show
7. Loss of driver's license
8. Irrevocable loss of professional (medical, dental, airline pilot, therapist, teacher, broker) license or job.
Do you agree that when someone is addicted to mood-altering drugs, he is automatically impaired?
What criteria do you use for proclaiming impairment on the job for an addict?
List the numbers of the above possible addictions for answers to the following questions:
Which of the above situations deserves punishment of some kind?
Which of the above shows bad choices?
Which are learned?
Which of the above show loss of control?
Which of the above are inevitable and beyond ones' control?
Which of the above are purely genetic?
Which of the above do you definitely consider addictions?
Which of the above may be addictions?
Which deserve criminal punishment?
In your opinion, what causes addictions?
Apportion (in terms of percentage-for a total of 100%) the percentage responsible for the causation of addictions in any particular person. May be one, all, or none of the below. Just put in what you believe. Add any I may have left out under the category of "other."
Environment:
Parental influence ___%
Sibling influence ___%
Peer pressure or influence ___%
Religious or spiritual influence ___%
Media influence ___%
Neighborhood environmental influence ___%
Socioeconomic influences ___%
Teachers, coaches, religious leaders, counselors ___%
Other: ___%
Total Environmental Influence ___%
Genetic-Biological Influence ___%
Total % influence = 100%
Are some addictions worse than others?___ Of the ones you think are addictions from the above 28 possible addictions, rank the order (use the number), from worst to least worse:
Which mood-altering drugs are the most and second most damaging on a medical-physical basis?
Which mood-altering drugs are the most and second most damaging to the most number of people?
Which mood-altering drugs are associated with the most and second most amounts of crime?
Which mood-altering drugs are associated with the most and second most amount of violence?
Which mood-altering drug is associated with the most amount of
fatal automobile accidents? Suicides? Child abuse?
Sexual abuse?
Which mood-altering drug is associated with the most amount of incarcerations?
Which mood-altering drugs are associated with the most and second most amount of lost time and productivity at work?
Which mood-altering drug is by far associated with the most amount of domestic violence?
In terms of percentage of the total amount of damage done by all mood-altering drugs to all people, including economic, medical, broken families, violence, crime, incarceration, etc., allot a percentage to the following mood-altering drugs: Alcohol___%, Heroin___%, Marijuana___%, Cocaine___%, Sleeping pills___%, Prescription tranquilizers___%, Crack___%, Speed (methamphetamine)___%, Cigarettes___%.
Which of these mood-altering drugs are legally purchased by their users?
*In your opinion, which is the most damaging of these mood-altering drugs?
*Which of these mood-altering drugs is publicly promoted to be the worst by the government, media, and drug abuse experts?
Second ?________ Third?________Forth________Fifth?_________
If there is a difference, why do you think there is a difference in your answers to the above two questions with an asterisk (*)?
Are drugs bad?
Are other addictions bad?
Are addicts bad? Immoral?
What makes a drug bad?
What makes an addiction immoral?
What makes an addict bad?
What makes an addict immoral?
Which addictions should be legal?
Which addictions should be illegal?
How do you define disease?
How do you define choice?
How do you define addiction?
How do you define superstition?
How do you define racism?
How do you define instinct?
How do you define spirituality?
How do you define genetic?
Do you think a belief in God (or other supernatural higher power) is necessary for recovery from addictions?
Rate the following from 0-10, with 0=never and 10=always.
How much of a role does self-control have on the treatment or recovery from addictions (0-10)?
Are (all, most, many, some, few, none) addicts irresponsible in their personal and professional life?
Are (all, most, many, some, few, none) addicts dangerous to the public?
Are (all, most, many, some, few, none) addicts mentally ill?
Are (all, most, many, some, few, none) addicts antisocial?
Are (all, most, many, some, few, none) addicts immature?
Is addiction learned?
Is addiction taught by example?
Is addiction a choice?
Are addicts born or made?
In your opinion, what causes addictions and how do you know this?
Do you think our society has a good handle on addictions?
Do you think we understand all there is to know about addictions?
If not, what do you think we don't understand?
Do you think our current understanding of addictions produces good results for addicts and society?
Do you see addiction as a disease?
Do you see addiction as a disease like diabetes or arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) are diseases or is there a difference?
If so, what is the difference?
Is there a difference between the effect that being an addict has on family, job, or society from the effect a non-addict's heart attack, stroke, or kidney failure has on his family, job,
or society?
If yes, what?
What would you guess is the present rate of success (sobriety) in our current methods of treating addicts? [I define sobriety in the context of this questionnaire as being completely free from the addiction, whatever it is, for at least 3 years.]
What is a good success rate for any medical disease that a person might have?
What is a good success rate for a disease you might have?
What would be an acceptable success (sober) rate among all addicts?
Do you think that the rate of success has anything to do with how well we understand diseases and addictions?
Do you think there may be something we don't understand about addicts and their addictions which makes them addicts and makes non-addicts, non-addicts? What?
Is there something inherently different about addicts that makes them addicts? What?
Can anyone be an addict?
Do you agree that addicts should be held criminally liable for victimless crimes such as purchasing and using mood-altering drugs?
In the societal, occupational, relationship, or criminal judgment of an addict, which is more important: the presence of the addiction or the specific behavior(s) that the addict actually does?
Should the mere presence of an addiction be the focus of these above judgments?
Should addicts be judged on their addictions or on their specific behaviors?
How is it possible for a person to be a drug addict in the absence of the drug?
On what criteria should addicts be judged?
On what criteria should addicts be judged at work?
On what criteria should addicts be judged at home?
On what criteria should addicts be judged criminally?
On what criteria should addicts be judged concerning a professional license?
Should a drug addict be judged for obtaining and using the drug in the absence of any other criminal behavior? If so, how?
Should there be laws and criminal prosecution for addicts obtaining drugs? If so, what?
Should addicts be judged in the absence of interpersonal or property damage and crimes? If so, how?
Should addicts be judged only for interpersonal or property damage and crimes? If so, how?
Should addicts be sentenced differently than non-addicts for these interpersonal or property crimes?
In the absence of interpersonal or business crimes or damage, should addicts be fired from jobs, forced to stop their addictions, penalized, convicted, or punished for just being addicts?
What makes some addictions different from others in the absence of criminal or damaging behavior?
Should any addictions be handled by the criminal justice system in the absence of interpersonal criminal behavior?
Should a diabetic who fails to stick to his diet and medication regimen be punished by his family? His boss?
Criminal justice system?
Should a current smoker who gets lung cancer be punished by his family? His boss?
Criminal justice system?
What is the difference, if any, between the above three situations?
If you think addiction is a disease, how does it differ, if at all, from any other disease?
Should drug addicts be allowed to legally obtain their drugs and sterile needles and syringes (if used)?
If so, how should this be accomplished?
Should this be run at the federal or state level, by the Health Department, or by private M.D.s through prescriptions and pharmacies?
Rate from 0-10 to the following "experts" or "methods" in terms of their knowledge and ability to understand and successfully (produce long-term sobriety) treat addictions. 0=none, 10=excellent. I define sober in the context of this questionnaire as being completely free from the addiction, whatever it is, for at least 3 years. If you assign a number of 8 or above (what I would call usually effective in most addicts), please tell how you know this and what that knowledge or ability might be. "I don't know, I just believe it" is a valid answer. Make any comments you wish.
Psychiatrist
Psychologist
Priest
12 Step programs
Other types of self-help programs:
Rational Recovery
SOS
Women for Recovery
Other:
Boot camp
Religious conversion
A decision by the addict to stop
Self-help books and tapes
Affirmations and spiritual readings
Methadone (for heroin addiction)
Other addiction drug substitutes
Opioid blocking drugs
Antabuse
Prozac (or other antidepressants)
Group therapy
Jail
"Just Say No"
Self-control
Valium or other tranquilizers
Aromatherapy
Exorcism
Prayer
Therapeutic community
Acupuncture
Voodoo
Education
Meditation
Diet
Vitamins
Rehabilitation center
Other (list other treatments you believe are successful and why):
How do you know these (8 or above) are effective?
Which of these have you seen documented in a reputable peer reviewed publication and shown to be scientifically proven by a double blind, controlled study using accepted scientific method techniques?
Have you ever read or studied any articles of this type?
If you have, please site the reference here.
Do you think such studies are necessary to prove efficacy of medical treatment in general?
Do you think such studies are necessary to prove efficacy of addiction treatment?
Do you take the word of experts, newspaper journalists, magazines or TV? If so, which one(s)?
Who qualifies as an expert in the field of addictions?
What qualifies them?
Is there such a thing as a qualified expert in addictions?
Can addictions be prevented and how?
Do you think our current political (drug war, education and prevention programs) and criminal justice policies on addictions are correct?
If not, how would you change them?
Do current policies reflect a clear or unclear understanding of addictions?
Should a better understanding of addictions lead to a change of our current policies and laws?
How?
Have your attitudes or beliefs changed in any way by doing this questionnaire?
How?
Do you think you know more or less about addictions now than when you started?
In what ways?
Are you as confident about your opinions and beliefs about addictions as when you started?
Rate your understanding about addictions now from 0 (none)-100 (everything):
Explain why and how has this changed?
Rate how valuable this questionnaire experience has been for you:
0-100; please explain.
Would you participate in a follow up questionnaire that attempts to discover the role addiction plays in yourself and your family (family tree)?
How should we address the next questionnaire for mailing purposes?
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