Ideological Variations in the Structure of Deviant Types: A Multivariate Comparison ofAlcoholism and Heroin Addiction*

The alcoholic and the heroin addict are compared using survey measures of Freidson's three-dimensional typology of deviance and indicators of major ideological images of deviance. Ratings by respondents in independent subsamples reveal substantial similarity in the social typing of these two forms of deviance. Respondents holding medical images of deviance are less likely than those holdingmoralistic images to imputepersonal responsibility, stigma, and noncurability to the alcoholic and addict. However, evidence from a multivariateanalysis of the full Freidson typology suggests that the increasing influence of the medical ideology on alcoholism may have the undesirable consequence of locking the alcoholic into a non-responsible, but stigmatizeddeviant type. The societal reaction perspective emphasizes that deviance is a process by which social audiences categorically label and treat certain persons as deviant types (Lorber; Rubington and Weinberg; Schur; Simmons, a). The application of particular deviant types to particular actors is basically a situational matter (Kitsuse). However, several theorists have argued that the nature and availability of these social cate