Spirituality: the silent dimension in addiction research. The 1990 Leonard Ball oration

Researchers currently recognize and incorporate psychological, biomedical, and social determinants in the study of addictive behaviors. Yet spiritual aspects of addiction and recovery remain virtually unstudied, despite the fact that spirituality is given central importance in Alcoholics Anonymous and in the lives of many individuals. Traditional spiritual concepts have been relabelled to remove their transcendent dimension, and addiction researchers have acted as though spirituality plays no role in the lives of those they study. Consequently an entire class of potentially important variables is being overlooked. A majority of variance in addictive behaviors and treatment outcomes remains unexplained, a portion of which might be accounted for through the study of spiritual dependent, moderator, and independent variables. Behavioural scientists have begun to acknowledge the role of complex spiritual, moral, and decisional processes in the addictive behaviours. Though uncomfortable in some ways for both believers and unbelievers, the scientific study of spiritual processes may improve our understanding of the addictive behaviours, and our ability to prevent and treat these enduring problems.