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A psychoanalytic formulation of the addictive process is likely to be of value only in the context of a clear and meaningful definition of addiction, so the definition I introduced in earlier papers is repeated here (Goodman, 1990, 1991b). Addiction was defined as a process whereby a behavior that functions both to produce pleasure and to provide relief from internal discomfort is employed in a pattern characterized by recurrent failure to control the behavior and continuation of the behavior despite significant harmful consequences. The definition** was accompanied by a set of diagnostic criteria for addictive disorder, arranged in a format similar to that of the DSM-III-R (see Appendix).
The definition of addiction and diagnostic criteria for addictive disorder are behaviorally nonspecific. A behavioral syndrome is designated as an addictive disorder or an addiction, not on the basis of what the behavior is, but on the basis of how the behavior relates to a person's life. Any behavior that can function both to produce gratification and to provide escape from internal discomfort has the potential to be engaged in addictively, but constitutes an addiction only to the extent that it occurs in a pattern that meets the diagnostic criteria or coincides with the definition. It is not the type of behavior, its object, its frequency, or its social acceptability that determines whether a pattern of behavior qualifies as addiction: it is how this behavior pattern relates to and