Causes And Effects Of Alcoholism
Uploaded by sls465 on Apr 19, 2007
Causes And Effects Of Alcoholism
Alcoholism is defined as a primary, chronic disease with genetic and environmental factors influencing its development and manifestations. Alcoholism is often progressive and fatal. That is to say, alcoholism is a pattern of drinking that causes harmful consequences. The many causes of alcoholism run deep into the family genus system and can cause numerous effects to the present family and social status.
Alcoholics start out or develop alcoholism with one drink and continue until the point of intoxication. Many cases start with the social drinking status, which then develop into heavy drinking. In addition to social drinking, peer pressure plays a big role in the development of alcoholism. In today’s society, many younger adults are peer pressured into taking that first drink and then continuing drinking while they attend different events and parties.
Research has shown that there is a line of hereditary influence. Children with parents that are alcoholics are more likely to become alcoholics than children who have non-alcoholic parents. This means that they have the genes so there is a greater chance that they will end up like their parents. Roberta Caplan states that, “Alcoholism runs in some families and although there is no conclusive of how the alcoholism of family member is associated, studies show that 50 to 80 percent of all alcoholics have had a close alcoholic relative” (Caplan 266).
In most cases of alcoholism, the problem occurs when a person cannot cope with everyday life. That person uses alcohol to treat and medicate their problem without realizing the harm that they are doing to themselves. The relation between their problems, jobs, and stress result in them drinking excessively and now knowing when to stop. The alcohol is used as an excessive substitute for dealing with their problems.
Alcoholism effects the emotional and physical aspects of the drinker and his environment. One of the effects is a feeling of being “down.” For example, they drink to drown out depressed or anxious feelings. If you have ever been around an alcoholic that has been drinking heavily, you know that they bring down the mood of the people around them. Therefore, the drinker does not only make himself look bad, it makes the others around him less sociable and there...