The Nature vs. Nurture Debate in Learning More about Alcoholism INTRODUCTION: Alcoholism can affect anyone. It has enormous costs as it pertains to societies, families, and individuals. It is not prejudicial towards any race, color, sex, religion, or economic level. Although we do have ideas as to what alcoholism is, what we do not know is the exact cause(s) of this problem. Researchers are continually seeking answers to the long-standing nature versus nurture debate. Different views are split between a biological paradigm and a physchological paradigm. No one explanation seems to be better than another is. I will present views of the effects alcoholism has on society and an insight to the factors that serve to fuel the nature or nurture debate concerning alcohol abuse and alcoholism. STATISTICS: The abuse of alcohol alone is estimated at $144.1 billion dollars annually. Every man, woman and child in America pays nearly $1,000 a year to cover the costs of unnecessary health care, auto accidents, crime and lost of productivity resulting from alcohol abuse. Alcohol deaths account for approximately five percent of all deaths occurring in the United States. Alcohol is considered to be one of the most widely used drugs as it attacks the central nervous system. Two-thirds of all adults drink alcohol; one-third of those are under the age of eighteen. The term alcoholic is commonly used to refer to a person who is severely dependent on alcohol as a result of their drinking pattern. Not everyone with an alcohol problem becomes an alcoholic. If this is true then what differentiates the social drinker from the alcoholic? A novice explanation would be that social drinkers do not experience problems when they drink, h... ... middle of paper ... ...t has ever been in the past. Alcoholism effects each individual differently. Therefore, everyone who abuses alcohol doesn't become an alcoholic, but it is still important to understand the factors that are involved. Factors derive from biological, psychological, physiological, social and cultural fields of exploration. Alcoholism is a leach that sucks the life from an individual, families, and society. It turns people's lives into a world of depression and loneliness. Bibliography: 1. http://www1.jointogether.org/sa/issues/overview/problem 2. http://health.upenn.edu/~recovery/pros/dependence.html 3. http://www.csj.org/infoserv_links/topic_categories/topic_substanceabuse.htm 4. http://www.laserbuddy.com/recover/drugs.htm 5. http://www.sirinet.net/~jgjohnso/drugs.html 6. http://peele.sas.nl/lib/approach.html 7. Encyclopedia Britannica
When looking at alcoholism as a social issue we need to recognize that alcoholism tends to follow certain economic and ethnic groups, and furthermore it tends to run in families. There are genetic factors tied into who is more susceptible to becoming an alcoholic. As stated by Bethany Winkel in her article Alcoholism among Native Americans (2010) "Certain ethic groups experience alcoholism on a wider level. Native Americans are one such group. Their rate of alcoholism is much higher than the rest of the population." Alcoholism affects eight o...
The United States has the highest binge drinking percentage worldwide, 5,000 people under the age of 21 die each year due to alcohol poisoning. Also, 15.8 % of underage males and 12.4 % of underage females engage in binge drinking. Binge drinking has become a culture in the United
Robinson, David. From Drinking to Alcoholism: A Social Commentary. London: John Wiley and Sons, 1976.
Brendan Behan, an Irish poet and writer, stated, “One drink is too many for me and a thousand not enough.” For alcoholics, it is hard to consume one alcoholic beverage and after drinking ten beverages, they feel as though it is not enough and should continue drinking. This is a situation that occurs too often and is a real struggle to overcome. In fact, variations of Behan’s quote have been used in alcohol recovery programs worldwide. But why must some alcoholics use his quote to understand the power that alcohol has over them? There are three contributing factors that lead to alcoholism - mental health, genetic structure, and social environment.
Today, one out of every thirteen adults abuse alcohol or are alcoholics. That means nearly thirteen million Americans have a drinking problem. (www.niaaa.nih.gov) This topic offers a broad range of ideas to be researched within the psychological field. For this particular project, the topic of alcoholism and the psychological effects on people best fit the criteria. Alcoholism is defined as a disorder characterized by the excessive consumption of and dependence on alcoholic beverages, leading to physical and psychological harm and impaired social and vocational functioning. (www.dictionary.com) Through this project, the most important information regarding personal experiences dealing with alcoholism will be revealed. Not only are statistics, like the facts mentioned before, important when dealing with an issue such as alcoholism, but personal accounts and information are often more powerful and influential evidence. Non-alcoholics should be allowed to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings for research purposes.
...nding what is "normal" and what is not because of the unpredictable environment they were raised in. Often times alcoholic have a tendency to abuse their children and their spouse. Many times, alcoholics come from an abusive home and they have a history of alcoholism in the family already. In conclusion, alcohol affects every part of your life. It has irreversible affects on the body, including the liver and the brain. Alcohol also has detrimental affects on the mind, which leads to feeling inferior and unstoppable. Alcohol and alcoholism also affects family as well. There are many treatment programs and support groups that can help. However, most of the time the alcoholics refuse to admit they have a problem with their drinking, so it goes untreated. It is best to seek help, as living with an alcoholic parent is not only traumatizing, but taxing on the body and mind.
When society thinks about people drinking alcohol, the first assumption is that there is a drinking disorder occurring. There are thousands of ways to get help and for one to learn the correct way to drink alcohol. Society, however, doesn’t realize that there are steps and reasons alcoholism occurs within society.
“For every family that is impacted by drugs, there are another 10 to 15 families impacted by alcohol abuse. It's a pretty big deal. We have a tendency to only look at part of the puzzle.” (Kevin Lewis). As a society we tend to categorize the severity of addiction in a way that drugs are the most dangerous and alcohol being just a problem. Because alcohol addiction can be a slow progressive disease many people don’t see it in the same light as drug addiction. An addiction to drugs is seen as being a more deadly and dangerous issue then that of alcohol because a drug addiction can happen more quickly and can kill more quickly. Alcohol is something that is easy to obtain, something that is found at almost every restaurant. People with an alcohol addiction can not hide from alcohol as easy as a drug addict. Approximately 7 million Americans suffer from alcohol abuse and another 7 million suffer from alcoholism. (Haisong 6) The dangers of alcohol affect everyone from children with alcoholic parents, to teenagers who abuse alcohol, then to citizens who are terrorized by drunk drivers.
The problem of alcohol abuse has been recognized for thousands of years, but only more recently have we begun to see alcohol addiction as a treatable disorder. According to the Classical Disease Model of `Alcoholism,' habitual use of alcohol can be identified as a disease. Webster's Dictionary defines the concept of `disease' as follows: "Any departure from health presenting marked symptoms; malady; illness; disorder." Therefore, as many occurrences of alcohol excess provoke such symptoms, it is somewhat understandable that `alcoholism' is classified as a disease. The Classical Disease Model appears to offer a hopeful option. Treatment and sobriety can allow people to lead fulfilling lives. Adjacent to the notion of alcoholism as personal failure or moral deterioration, the Classical Disease Model appears to be a more desirable concept as it provides a motive for the alcoholic to seek treatment and gain sympathy, minimizing personal guilt. As alcoholism is seen as a progressive and, to an extent, hereditary illness for which those afflicted are not accountable, victims avoid being ostracized from society (Jellinek, 1960). Labeling the problem as a `disease' allows the medical profession to take responsibility for the treatment of alcoholism, which puts the problem in a more favourable light than if it were in the hands of psychologists or social workers, thus detaching the stigma connected with the problem while it is put on a par with other diseases such as diabetes or cancer. However, critics of the Classical Disease Model believe stigma helps reduce alcohol problems and aids the alcoholic. Any effort to reduce the stigma which is faced by the alcoholic will reduce pressures to moderate consumption and could have the additional ...
The first to advocate alcoholism as a disease was Benjamin Rush (1785-1843), and he even proposed that hospitals should be established to aid in the treatment of this disease (Cox, 1987). Since Rush, there have been many more definitions of alcoholism including the Statistical Abstracts (1979) account that an alcoholic is defined as ?one who is unable consistently to choose whether he shall drink or not, and if he drinks, is unable consistently to choose whether he shall stop or not. ?Alcoholics with complications? are those who have developed bodily or mental disorders through prolonged excessive drinking? (O?Brien & Chafetz, 1982, p.26). Further, Mark Keller of Quarterly Journal of Studies on Alcoholism in March of 1960 stated that alcoholism is a ?chronic disease manifested by repeat implicative drinking so as to ca...
To understand alcoholism, it must first be understood what this affliction is dependent on. Alcohol is a substance that is made by the fermentation of fruits, grains, or miscellaneous other organic materials. The chemical, alcohol, is a depressant and acts on every cell in the human body. Due to this, the central nervous system, along with the pleasure centers of the brain, are affected resulting in a feeling of euphoria and a sense of well being. After repeated exposure, the brain becomes dependent on this drug to unburden itself whenever it feels the compulsion. Several factors that contribute to alcoholism are the individual’s psychology, genetics, culture, and the individual’s response to physical pain.
Someone who is struggling with alcoholism does not see his problem as a concern. This is due to denial or shame, so he tends to ignore the issue. Some may believe that nurture was at fault. The person may have grown up in an abusive environment, so consuming alcohol could have been a coping mechanism. Others may believe that human nature was at fault. The person could have inherited drinking from a family member, most likely their parents. Psychologists, scientists, and behaviorist all have different assumptions on why people are the way they are (McLeod). Mill and Wilson take their own sides on this debate.
In the great world of tending bar there is a myriad selection of customers one would encounter; The Social Drinker, The Self Defined Outcast, The Fish Out of Water, and last but never the least, The Freshman. Each level of drinker has its advantages in social circles and also has equal negative repercussions. Most of these classes aren't built from years of drinking, rather are formed through the personality traits they already have developed through their childhood and young adulthood. Only when alcohol is introduced to the equation, we see these great classifications shine through and become polished for all to enjoy.
This research paper will help enable sociologists to determine what the ongoing effects have on an alcoholic and further provides information on the long-term effects that society has to deal with. The significance of alcoholism and sociology is the ability of sociologists to research and discover how human behaviour is affected on many aspects of its effects on a person. An alcoholic can be described as someone who is addicted to drinking alcoholic beverages in excess. What starts out as social drinking can lead to excessive drinking and the many problems associated with alcohol abuse and i...
The cause of alcoholism is a combination of biological, psychological, and cultural factors that may contribute to the development of...