The Problem Of Alcohol Abuse Essay
The problem of alcohol abuse and dependence has a sufficiently long history and there are a lot of individuals of various age groups, of various social levels and positions, who become alcohol dependant and can not release from this ruining habit. There is no need to talk a lot about devastating consequences of alcohol addiction for abusing individuals, as well as the whole societies. Recently a lot of attention has been paid to thorough investigation of the reasons of the development of alcohol abuse, namely to the possible genetic influences.The Problem Of Alcohol Abuse Essay
With the aim of studying of genetic factors in relation to alcoholism, there were various researches conducted, which were aimed to reveal all the possible types of genetic influences, including the risk of the relatives of an addicted person, identical twins and their risks in comparison to fraternal twins, finally the risks of adopted children, in case one or both of their parents turned out to be alcohol dependant. “The family and twin studies support the conclusion that the proportion of risk for this disorder explained by genes (that is, heritability) is between 40 and 60%” (Prescott, Kendler, 1999, p. 35). These researches confirmed that even if there is a number of genes, which could be considered having direct impact upon formation of alcohol dependence, still there is a higher risk of the impact of the corresponding genes upon genetically influences characteristic features. Most of the researchers named them endophenotypes, they were assumed to have the influence upon development of alcohol abuse habits.
“A range of endophenotypes have been described as potential contributors towards the risk of alcoholism. One set of factors appears to be non-specific and reflects a generic predisposition towards dependencies on a range of substances. An example is the constellation of personality characteristics that relate to impulsivity, sensation seeking, neuronal disinhibition and an impaired ability to easily learn from mistakes” (Schuckit, Smith, 2000, p. 828). In some cases they are directly related to the genetically influenced syndromes, such as schizophrenia or maniac depressive disorder. There are the examples of some sufficiently strong evidences of the assumption that alcoholism is luckily to be an inherited problem, which were based upon family studies, twin studies and adoption studies.The Problem Of Alcohol Abuse Essay
Unfortunately in many families, where one of both parents experience problems with alcohol abuse, there is a tendency of their children to follow their example, among male children the percentage is rather high, making about 20-25 %, whereas for female children it is lower and constitutes 5 %. Estimates of the general populations in relation to alcoholism rates, are different, still this is evident that the percentage there is lower, than among the first degree relatives. If it is possible to trace a rather long history of alcohol addiction in a family, most luckily the youngest generation should also be considered to be in the group of risk as well. Here it is necessary to distinguish between two notions – inherited and run, as alcoholism is not always an inherited problem, but it could run in such families, as it has been considered for many years already. Alcoholism addiction is considered to be learnt, like any other family tradition, for example speaking concrete language at home, even if with their neighbors they tend to use a different language. However, upon conducting studies of adopted children and twins, there appeared the necessity to reconsider the position.
In the frames of adoption studies it is not possible to rely fully upon genetic factor, as it is with natural parents, rather it is necessary to study the possibility of the combination of genetic factors with actual family conditions, in order to find out, whether children of alcoholics would tend to abuse alcohol in non-alcoholic families, if they were adopted, or they would rather acquire the life mode and traditions of the new family.
One of the first studies was done by Roe, the result of this study confirmed absence of the difference between children from families, where alcohol was abused and where it was not abused, after these children were adopted by non-alcoholic parents. This study was however criticized for not sufficient number of the studied children and families and non-consideration of the fact that children were rather young and most probably simply didn’t reach the age, when the risk of alcohol abuse could be high.
The biological factors, able to have their impact upon alcoholism, were widely studied during the 1970s. “Three adoption studies were conducted in three countries: Denmark (Goodwin et al.. 1973), Sweden (Bohman, 1978) and the United States (Cadoret, Cain, and Grove, 1979)” (Engs, 1990, p. 13). All of them applied various methods, however, the results were more or less the same. First of all it was found out that upon reaching their adulthood, children from alcoholic families had a rather high risk of becoming alcoholics, even under the condition that they were adopted by non-alcoholic families. And second important conclusion stated that even if children had alcoholic biological parents, they were not inclined to development of other psychiatric disorders after adoption.The Problem Of Alcohol Abuse Essay
An important role in the whole investigation of the problem was played by the study of twins, because single egg monozygotic twins have the same DNA and this means that they have theoretically the same level of predisposition towards genetic illnesses (Engs, 1990, p.14). There were several studies of twins and their drinking patterns conducted. According to Swedish study it was stated that identical twins are more inclined to become alcoholics than fraternal twins. “A large Finnish study (Partanen, Brunn, and Markkanen, 1977) found similarities of drinking patterns, but no difference between identical and fraternal twins regarding “loss of control” (believed by some to be the sine qua non of alcoholism)” (Engs, 1990, p. 15). The generalized conclusion to the twins’ studies assumed that along with evident presence of genetic factors in alcoholism, there were still no unified results, as it was still necessary to consider the roles of other genetic factors in combination with actual environment.
Along with numerous studies, which seems to be contributing to the conclusion that alcoholism is related to heredity, there is still an open question – what exactly is inherited? There was not a single study or research, which could result with clear and precise conclusion about the real universal causes of alcoholism. The only possible agreement, which was reached by the researchers, was that alcoholism is influenced by a combination of factors. This seems rational, if to consider the facts that genes produce enzymes, responsible for metabolizing of alcohol, and access to alcohol is provided by society. There is however an idea that there exists one single cause of alcoholism, correspondingly as soon as it is found and confirmed, it could be of great use for solving of the problem of alcoholism in all levels. This is evident that it is not possible to work out the effective plan of coping with a serious problem, without even knowing for sure about its underlying mechanisms and origins, which are dominating. As long as this “chemical switch’ is not found, the problem remains rather controversial and many-sided, making a lot of people suffer both morally and physically, including those, who abuse alcohol, their relatives and their children. Getting the information about the genetic susceptibility is vitally important, as it ruins the initial assurance that alcoholism is a problem of upbringing. Certainly this information is vitally important for further studies of this sphere and various factors, with possible future investigation of the means to solve the problem of alcoholism for ever The Problem Of Alcohol Abuse Essay
References:
Engs, R. C. [editor] (1990). Controversies in the Addiction Field. Dubuque, Iowa:Kendall-Hunt
Prescott, C.A., Kendler, K.S. (1999). Genetic and environmental contributions to alcohol abuse and dependence in a population-based sample of male twins. Am J Psychiatry.156:34–40
Schuckit, M.A., Smith, T.L. (2000). The relationships of a family history of alcohol dependence, a low level of response to alcohol and six domains of life functioning to the development of alcohol use disorders. J Stud Alcohol.61:827–835.The Problem Of Alcohol Abuse Essay