asive but not comprehensively explicated until it was tackled by the physicians comprising the membership of the Association for the Study and Cure of Inebriety. These doctors gave serious thought to almost every aspect of alcoholism in terms of how it might or might not be related to stress.
As the Tension-Reduction Hypothesis developed, increasing concern focused on the managers or leaders of the new society as being particularly at risk for the development of the disorder. Social leaders were said to be at risk because they were viewed as: a) under maximal social pressure; and b) expending maximal energy.
Despite the thought given to the Tension-Reduction Hypothesis by leading medical people of the time, Linder reports that many components in the model remained fuzzy or poorly articulated. Nonetheless, the Association's work was of great interest to the public and to the medical establishment of the time. It's interest to the public and to medical personnel can be seen in the fact that so many peo
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