...ALCOHOLISM IN AMERICAN FAMILIES Introduction America is becoming a nation of alcoholics. Harford (2006) assert that in the contemporary American society alcoholism affect 1 in every 3 people. With the increasing pressure of life, many people have turned to alcohol to relieve their daily stress leading to uncontrolled alcoholism in the society. As the basic unit of the society the family has been affected in the same way increased breakdown of families and neglect of children by alcoholic parents. Alcoholism has run deep in American families and children have been affected in a particular way. This paper will research on alcoholism and the effects it has on the life of the family. It will first define alcoholism and then look at how alcoholism runs in American families. Later it will look at children of alcoholics. What is alcoholism? According to Harford (2006) Alcoholism can be defined as drinking of alcohol to an extent that it interference with individual physical and mental health and their ability to perform their duties and responsibility and to live with the rest to the society and family members. Alcoholism is a disease condition which result from excessive consumption of alcoholic beverage. According to Silverstein (1990) there are three distinct features which are used to diagnose the condition according to American Psychiatrist Association. The three criteria include: i) Physiological problem including hand tremors or blackouts ii) Psychological problem...
Words: 2775 - Pages: 12
...813 McDermott, Diane; Winterowd, Carrie A Model for the Treatment of College Age Children of Alcoholics. [89] 16p. Reports Evaluative/Feasibility (142) MF01/PC01 Plus Postage. Adults; College Students; Counseling Effectiveness; *Group Counseling; Higher Education; *School Counseling; *Young Adults *Adult Children of Alcoholics ABSTRACT A session by session cognitive behavioral approach to group treatment for college age children of alcoholics was presented. Four groups ranging in size from four to eight persons participated in these semester -long sessions offered during one academic year through the counseling center at a major midwestern university. The treatment was comprised of four stages: introductory, informative, working, and closing. Cognitive, behavioral, and affectively oriented techniques were used to facilitate growth at each stage. Assessment of efficacy utilized a pretest/posttest design. Participants (N=25), aged 18 to 31 and with a mean age of 21, were given a seven-point Likert-type scale based on Woititz's 13 characteristics. Analysis of data indicated a reduction of scores on the 13 characteristics between the beginning and the ending of treatment for all groups. Participants' ratings indicated a general perception of helpfulness. The majority of participants said that they would either seek out another Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACOA) group or would continue with some type of therapy. College age, young adulthood...
Words: 4564 - Pages: 19
...connected with alcoholism, incest and battering are also common in alcoholics’ families. According to Berger, nearly 30 percent of father – daughter incest cases and 75 percent of domestic violence cases contain a family member who is an alcoholic. Incest and battering targets often blame themselves for what has occurred. Since they feel so guilt-ridden, mortified, and deserted, that they themselves may perhaps turn to drinking as a way to run away from the pain. “Children of alcoholics are individuals who have been deprived of their childhood” (Silverstein, 1990). Children of alcoholics, if gone untreated these children, will convey their difficulties into their later life. Many adult children of alcoholics partake on complications with intimacy, for the reason that their preceding involvement has shown them not to trust other individuals. They may also believe that if they love someone, that...
Words: 496 - Pages: 2
...that does nothing but bring others down. From parent to children relationships, to even spousal connection alcohol is known as one of the leading causes of conflict within families. I think that understanding and focusing on the problems that alcoholism can lead to could potentially help the incoming generations understand the importance of staying away from the drug. Alcoholism has many definitions in today’s society only because of the relevancy that this topic has gained. The random house dictionary of English language defines alcoholism as “a diseased condition due to the excessive use of alcoholic beverages” (p.35). While this definition is true, I feel as if there are far more important aspects to look at within alcoholism and that is the affects that it could potentially impose on your life. According to the U.S department of health and human services “76 million American adults have been exposed to alcoholism in the family” that’s a large amount of people that are potentially putting their relationships with their family in danger. According to Silverstein (1990), one of every four families has problems with alcohol. With this being said, it really makes people wonder why it is that alcoholics haven’t realized this. Well, as an alcoholic, trying to quit drinking can be very hard. Reason being, you get so used to drinking every day that it almost becomes a routine and without the continuance of that routine alcoholics tend to feel like somethings missing. With this feeling...
Words: 1349 - Pages: 6
...VIVETTE K. EVANS University of Phoenix COM/156 Suzzann Connell July 28, 2013 ADDICTION: ALCOHLISM AND THE EFFECTS ON THE FAMILY Alcoholism has been called the family illness. The family is impacted most by the behaviors of the untreated alcoholic. The addiction of alcoholism has very negative and adverse effects on the family and in the community. The jail and hospital visits take a toll on the family’s finances and emotional stability. Mothers against drunk drivers reported in 2012 that there were 1.41 million drunk driving convictions in the United States of America. These individuals take not only their lives but also the lives of others into their hands when they choose to get behind the wheel of their cars after the consuming alcohol. There is evidence that problem drinkers are less likely to be candidates for successful marriages and relationships. (Power, Rodgers and Hope). There are those instances where the abuse of alcohol is dominate in the marriage yet, they begin to raise a family. The children of such marriages are effected in many...
Words: 1442 - Pages: 6
...The effects of Alcoholic Parents I. Introduction a) Attention getter i. About 17 million families will deal with the effects of “heavy drinking”, and over 7% of the population will experience abuse or dependence on alcohol. b) Necessary information i. Roughly 30% of alcoholics say they had at least one alcoholic parent. ii. An estimated 28 million people grow up with at least one parent that abuses or is dependent on alcohol. c) Thesis statement i. Even though alcoholics think they are in control and aren’t harming anyone, they are really harming their children. II. Body paragraph # 1 a) Topic sentence i. Children with alcoholic parents have reported a stronger disturbance in the stability of family and poor relationships with family members. b) Introduce quote i. Research has shown c) Quote/paraphrase i. Studies of children receiving mental health care have reported that children of alcoholic parents are more antisocial and aggressive at home and at school compared to matched children of non-alcoholic parents (Cannolly). d) Analysis i. There are a higher number of negative events, than positive events in families with alcoholic parents. ii. Children are usually in trouble more at school and by the time they are 18, they usually have records or serious delinquencies. III. Body paragraph # 2 e) Topic sentence i. Drinking to intoxicate is widely accepted in homes, but many are concerned about...
Words: 476 - Pages: 2
...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 loss 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, however alcoholics develop a physical dependence on alcohol and lack control over how much they drink and what happens when they drink, resulting in social problems. Can it be this simple? Why doesn't a person...
Words: 6352 - Pages: 26
...Effects of Alcoholism on Children in the Family Effects of alcoholism on children in the family. From addiction in the long run, guilt, anxiety, embarrassment, the inability to have close relationships, confusion, anger and depression all effect the child of an alcoholic. One in five adult Americans have lived with an alcoholic relative while growing up. Alcoholism runs in families, and children of alcoholics are four times more likely than other children to become alcoholics themselves. (AACAP) According to the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence there are 18 million alcoholics in the U.S and there is 26.8 million children that are exposed to alcoholism in the family. (AAMFT) Making all these children at a higher risk to be addicted to alcohol or any other substance such as drugs. Addiction is when a person craves and uses the substance despite its adverse consequences. (David G. Myers) Addiction is something that can be passed on in the family it might be the same choice of addiction but the addiction is there. Addiction fits the saying, “The apple doesn’t fall to far from the tree.” Meaning that basically what a child’s parents did in there young life or life period most likely there child is going to follow those same footsteps in life. The way a family lives can determine a big outcome of how a child lives their life after they grow up. A parent’s role in the family is to keep a healthy environment for the child or children. The environment does not...
Words: 1586 - Pages: 7
...Arthur Severo Castro Professor Laura Ahmed English 51 15 May 2012 Final Essay Alcoholic Beverages and Its Troubles In the novel, Queen of Dreams, by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, the theme of alcoholism plays an important role. Alcoholic beverages are one of the most dangerous things in our world, if not properly drunk. It can bring up a lot of consequences like diseases, family problems and even the death. The parents and adults have a huge importance in this theme, especially when being about alcoholic drinks and children. Alcoholic beverage is any beverage that contains ethyl alcohol, also called ethanol. And the alcohol can be regarded as the best selling drug on our planet. The author shows us a character, Rakhi’s father, he is a dependent alcoholic. “His drinking was erratic. I could never understand what brought it on. Sometimes he’d go for one month without touching alcohol. Other times he’d start drinking on Friday and continue through the weekend.” (Divakaruni 36), this character shows us one situation that happens a lot in our world, children who has dependent alcoholic parents. That is a big problem. Children of alcoholic parents often have academic problems. “They have higher levels of depression and anxiety and exhibit more symptoms of generalized stress” (Brown Jr.). Sometimes one of the solutions that those children find to relieve the stress is having a bad behavior, and then they start to make bad decisions, like argue with teachers, not go over the lessons...
Words: 972 - Pages: 4
...Whiteking.thaysha@yahoo.com Thaysha King Professor Nora Kabaji Freshman Composition Research Paper 27 March 2013 Alcoholics Anonymous the Truth about Alcoholism Alcoholism is the addiction to consuming alcoholic drinks. Just like any other addiction it is fostered by the regular consumption of alcohol. It is not wrong to have an occasional drink in a social event or to have a little wine with dinner but when it reaches to the point where the individual cannot go a day without alcohol in his system then there is a problem. Alcohol is a drug like any other but it’s the most popular and accepted drug in the entire world. It is legal to citizens above eighteen years to drink alcohol and it is very accessible to even teenagers. Consumption of alcohol is not a new thing, it has been there for centuries and many new brands are being produced every year. However, those many years ago, our fore fathers knew the restrictions when it came to taking alcohol. They did not over do it and they consumed alcohol mainly during social events hence they did not become addicted to it. In our society today, any time is a good time to take alcohol. Teenagers, young adults, adults and even old people are all taking alcohol at an alarming rate. They are doing it oblivious to the fact that they can become addicted. Why are there so many alcoholics in the world today? How does it affect them and the people around them? What can be done to cure our society out of this vice? We answer all these questions...
Words: 1287 - Pages: 6
...parents yell at each other and then you hear an awful sound. Did your father just hit your mother only because his dinner was cold, and he was late? You ask yourself why, why is he like this? He is like this because he is an alcoholic and cannot control his temper when he has been drinking. The next day you promise your mom and yourself that when you grow up you were never going to become an alcoholic. You see what your father’s alcoholism has done to your family and yourself and would never want that to happen to your family when you become an adult. Twenty years later, you too become an alcoholic. Children of alcoholics are four times more likely to grow up to be an alcoholic than any other children, according to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. One in five adult Americans lived with an alcoholic while growing up. (AACAP) Studies have shown that even twins separated at birth and living in two very different environments still became alcoholics. There were an estimated 28.6 million Children of Alcoholics in the United States in 1991, nearly 11 million of them under the age of 18. Of the under 18-age group, there will be almost 3 million that will develop alcoholism and other drug problems. More than half of these teens will marry alcoholics and are likely to recreate the same kinds of highly stressful and unhealthy...
Words: 1295 - Pages: 6
...The effects of alcohol on society are devastating. For example, a child that has to grow up in a home where one or even both parents are alcoholics may be living in a deadly environment. "Children often find themselves blamed by an alcoholic parent. Their home is filled with conflict, confusion, and embarrassment. They often carry this feeling of disorder into their adult lives, which affects their own families, their co-workers, and society. Alcoholism in families has a vicious cycle, because children of alcoholics can suffer from many different emotional and mental disorders including addictions to alcohol, gambling, drugs, sex, and food. Many of them go on to marry or live with alcoholics or abusers. Children of alcoholics may become alcoholics themselves sometimes because of heredity factors, but also because of the environment, they grew up in. More than half of domestic violence cases and as many as 90 percent of child abuse cases involve alcoholism, according to a survey by Priory Healthcare, a rehab center. Girls in alcoholic homes are four times more likely to suffer sexual abuse." (Shaw, Jerry Livestrong.com, 2012) The other aspect of how alcohol affects society is health. Alcoholics may not only be hurting themselves from drinking, if they get behind to wheel of a car, they are endangering the lives of countless others. Millions of innocent people are killed each year from drunk driving than any other vehicle accident, and most times, they are not even able to find...
Words: 379 - Pages: 2
...The story reads as if the world is crashing down on Al with his personal and uncontrollable problems (Harrison 15). He is a severely depressed alcoholic (16). When his life starts spiraling out of control due to a turn of events, he puts blame on everyone else, expect himself. Alcoholism and depression do not mix and can ultimately break up a family. Al came very, very close to losing his. Alcoholism and depression doesn’t only effect Al, but his whole family as well. When Al was in fear of being laid off by his job, worried about financial issues, having an affair with a lonely woman, and issues with the new family pet, he turns to excessive drinking (18). During all of these events he never made himself accountable for these problems. So, he used the family dog, Suzy, as a scapegoat. He is doing this to Suzy only because he needed someone to blame and to take his frustration out on. Suzy was the easiest target because she was defenseless. Al is displacing his anger and resentment from his seemingly out of control life onto the dog. He decides to get rid of Suzy and drop her off in a random neighborhood (22). These rash decisions not only affect him, but his whole family. His wife disapproves of his drinking and suspects him of cheating, but instead of trying to fix things the right way he just blames the dog (23). Many alcoholics make up excuses for what they are doing instead of dealing with...
Words: 773 - Pages: 4
...for one reason or another, some people abuse alcohol and develop addictions. Alcohol can destroy persons who depend on its effects to solve their problems. Not only does the use of alcohol create serious health disorders for those who drink heavily during their lifetime, but also causes serious health disorders in children whose mothers drank while pregnant. Individuals who drink alcohol are often responsible for injuring other innocent people. Each year in the United States, nearly 85,000 people die from alcohol-related causes, making it the third leading preventable cause of death in our country. (NIAAA) Many automobile accidents involve drunk drivers. People who drink endanger themselves and everyone around them. In addition, business and industry suffer financial loss because their employees drink. What might begin as casual drinking can become heavy drinking and alcoholism. Because the abuse of alcohol has a negative effect on men, women, and children, that same abuse on alcohol is a threat in our society. Although society cannot force people to stop abusing alcohol, society does try to provide rehabilitation for heavy drinkers and alcoholics. People who watch television commercials and read magazine advertisements perhaps think that the use of alcohol can be a positive factor in their life. But according to the author of Alcohol: The Delightful Poison, “alcohol is classified as a...
Words: 2160 - Pages: 9
...suffering from this condition is referred to as an alcoholic. Alcoholics have an incontrollable urge to keep on drinking despite the obvious physical, social and mental problems associated with alcoholism. Physical risk factors associated with alcoholism include damage to the nervous system, epilepsy, pancreatitis, dementia and an increased risk of liver and cardiovascular diseases (Galanter, 2005). Alcoholism is considered the third most common mental problem with the most major risk factor being depression. This is as a result of the alcoholic having low self esteem and feeling out of place thus becoming antisocial. Alcoholics become very irritable when confronted about their drinking problem. This usually leads to them alienating themselves as they feel judged and misunderstood which sometimes leads to the alcoholic becoming suicidal (Galanter, 2005). Medical practitioners have carried out research to determine the causes of alcoholism with some speculating that the condition is hereditary. Studies show that people with a history of being either physically or sexually abused as children have a higher likelihood of developing alcoholism as they already feel out of place. Furthermore, children who engage in alcohol intake before the age of 15years are more likely to develop a drinking problem than those who have their first alcoholic drink past the said age. (Galanter, 2005). Diagnosis of alcoholism is difficult as many alcoholics shun treatment for fear of stigmatization...
Words: 608 - Pages: 3
