The difficulty generated by the indiscriminate use of the notion of alcoholism becomes evident when one studies the concepts used in research on the use of alcoholic beverages, on the one hand, and Brazilian articles dealing with alcohol consumption by indigenous populations, on the other. An initial proposal for a theoretical model is presented. In order to articulate the concepts of dependence, alcohol-use-related problems, and alcoholization, which have guided researchers in the construction of the field of indigenous health in the Upper Rio Negro region, in the Northwest of the State of Amazonas.
Alcoholism; indigenous population; health anthropology; transcultural psychiatry