Alcoholism in Today’s World
Alcoholism in Today’s World
In present day society, illness runs rampant among cities. Some individuals recognize their disease and seek help, while others continue to walk the streets unaware that they are infected. The disease does not cure itself and only continually increase in severity as an individual ages; however, thousands of people die each year not knowing they even had a problem. This problem which affects our society each day is alcoholism. There are three main aspects which deal with alcoholism and what effects alcoholism has on the human body, and what can be done to cure alcoholism.
The first point being addressed is what exactly alcoholism is. According to The Reader’s Digest Great Encyclopedic Dictionary, alcoholism “is a diseased condition resulting from the excessive use or persistent use of alcoholic beverages.” Alcoholism has divided into two major forms--alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence (Goodwin 1998). Alcohol abuse is the excessive consumption of alcohol which has detrimental effects on the people and situations surrounding an individual; whereas, alcohol dependence is a physical attachment to the alcohol. Alcohol abuse leads to hazardous behavior, such as drunken driving and continued drinking despite negative consequences on family, work, or social functioning. Alcohol dependence involves withdrawal symptoms when alcohol is not used, and lack of control over drinking despite serious social and medical problems (Goodwin 1998).
Various studies have been performed to show the relationship between alcoholism and genetics. New research on male twins show that genes play a critical role in the development of milder forms of alcoholism, such as, occasional abuse that can land the drinker in dangerous circumstances, particularly while driving (Goodwin 1998). The genetic similarity between twins makes them the perfect subjects on which to perform testing. Previous research has shown that people with an alcoholic family member have a two to four times higher risk of becoming alcoholic than members of the general population (Goodwin 1998). Many people believe adolescence and development affects alcoholism. The study noted that the way children are raised influences whether they will drink as adolescents and adults (Goodwin 1998). Parental influence on a child is fundamental in determining the child’s outlook on alcohol consumption. Psychologically, both environment and genetics play important roles in whether a person will develop alcoholism or not.
A study regarding alcohol has recently...