Alcohol abuse is the most common problem, nowadays. In fact, majority of people drink alcohol repeatedly to the point where they have difficulty to stop. Statistics show that, as much as, “40% of college students report drinking five or more drinks in one episode” (Walters & Baer, 2006). Alcohol has become more popular over the years as advertisements, simultaneously with commercials of it, filled the media. It also is easily accessible and cheap in comparison to other psychoactive substances. On the other hand, alcohol safety awareness programs are barely noticeable. My research will present how alcohol and its abuse gets into people’s lives and how it influences their physical and mental health, as well as, social existence.
Let’s ask a question: why do people start using alcohol at the first place? And why they start doing it at such young age? Well, just “like other adult drinkers, college students expect alcohol to produce a series of positive effects – relaxation, socialization, sexuality – and the strength of these positive expectancies is related to drinking” (Walters & Baer, 2006). And who wouldn’t take a couple drinks to gain a group of friends? It lowers social inhibitions, so it is very well known among shy individuals as well. However, this activity can be also pressurized by peers. In this case, pressure wouldn’t be effective on people who do not accept or see positive aspects of occasional drinking. That means, everyone starts by saying ‘yes’ to a glass.
Of course, everything in this world is created by people for people; so is alcohol. Thus, drinking it may have some positive results; especially, if we recall history lessons, where we were taught that healers had used spirits as a common cold remedy. Alcohol ...
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..., common are divorces and, sometimes, loss of parental rights. Most victimized here are children, who do not, yet, have much understanding of similar situations, and that, effects in impaired ability to trust people and feel safe, later on in their life. What else, next to the family situation, collapses in a long-term alcohol abuser’s life? Alcoholics are antisocial; they do not want to let anyone thru a wall they built around themselves. With time, they lose friends. Important matter is that alcohol dependents lack feelings of responsibility, so they become less effective at work. Their credibility drops and they are no longer valued workers – they lose their jobs.
Works Cited
http://www.recoveryoptions.us/resources/moderate-drinking http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh314/348-361.htm Pernanen, K. Alcohol in Human Violence. New York: Guilford Press, 1991
In the article “Children of Alcoholics” produced by the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, the author explains the negative effect of parental alcoholism on their children’s emotional wellbeing, when he writes, “Children with alcoholic parents are more likely to experience symptoms of anxiety and/or depression, antisocial behavior, relationship difficulties, behavioral problems, and/or alcohol abuse. One recent study finds that children of drug-abusing fathers have the worst mental health issues (Children of Alcoholics 1). Walls reflects upon her childhood experiences in which her father would become drunk and not be able to control his behavior, as she writes, “After working on the bottle for a while, Dad turned into an angry-eyed stranger who threw around furniture and threatened to beat up Mom or anyone else who got in his way. When he’d had his fill of cussing and hollering and smashing things up, he’d collapse” (Walls 23). The Walls children, who frequently encounter their father’s abusive behavior, are affected mentally in the same way that national studies have shown. Jeanette Walls describes how, after drinking, her father’s behavior becomes cruel and intolerable through his use of profanity, threats, and angry, even violent, actions. In a conventional family, a parent has the responsibility of being a role model to influence their children in a positive way as they develop. Unfortunately, in the Walls family and other families with alcoholic parents, children are often subject to abuse and violence, which places them at risk, not only physically, but mentally. Rex’s irrational behavior when he is drunk is detrimental to the children’s upbringing, causing them to lose trust in their parents, have significantly lower self-esteem and confidence, and feel insecure. Rex’s behavior contributes to Jeanette’s
Frey and Schonbeck explain that it is estimated that over 76 million people worldwide are affected by alcohol abuse or dependence. The chance of having an alcoholic in one’s life is very high. Children that grow up in an environment with an alcoholic may increase that child’s chance of becoming an alcoholic themselves. In the United States, the most commonly abused drug among youth is alcohol. Even though the legal drinking age is 21, nearly 20% of all alcohol consumed in the United States is by people under the legal age (83). In fact, when youth start drinking at social events in their teenage years, they are greatly increasing their risk of developing alcohol problems (85). Alcoholism can affect people of all ages. Furthermore, some experts try to differentiate between alcoholics and social drinkers. Typically, they base this off of five categories. Social drinkers do not drink alone. They consume minimal amounts of alcohol during social functions. Situational drinkers may not ever drink unless they are stressed out. These drinkers are more likely to drink by themselves. Problem drinkers can be described as a drinker that alcohol has caused problems in their life. However, they usually respond to advice given by others. Binge drinkers are out of control in their alcohol consumption. They may drink until they pass out or worse. Alcoholic drinkers have found that their lives have become unmanageable and that they are completely powerless over alcohol (84). Alcoholics should be cautious of their surroundings to prevent
Using fear, while not aggressively, Silveri highlights the fact that excessive alcohol consumption is the third leading leading cause of preventable death. The author discusses this topic in a way that seems to be to scare anybody she is trying to convince. A mother reading this could worry about her daughter, or a young man in college who drinks often could take his drinking habits far more seriously after reading something like that. Also, ending the article on an optimistic note, she allows the reader to have some hope. Silveri mentions the reduction of maladaptive alcohol use through better recognition of the negative tendencies that comes with alcohol abuse in adolescents. (Adolescent Brain Development and Underage Drinking in the United States: Identifying Risks of Alcohol Use in College
Insecurity is another incentive to why students binge drink. Drinking alcohol has been a large part of society for many years. People find that it is easier to meet people when they have been drinking. Drinking has also been used as a way to get close to some one. There are also many social events drinking has created. There are cozy bars “where every body knows your name,” cocktail parties, and the high school favorite, house party.
throughout her childhood with an alcoholic father and a selfish mother who cared more about her art and happiness than that of her children’s. Alcohol misuse can affect all aspects of family functioning: social life, finances, good communication, relationships between family members, parenting capability, employment and health issues, It also has a strong correlation with conflicts, disputes and domestic violence which can leave a damaging effect on children. Alcohol misuse often times changes the roles played by family members in relation to one another, and to the outside world as well.... ... middle of paper ... ...and agencies designed to meet the physical, intellectual, and social-emotional needs of individuals and families.”.
The Federal surveys in America depict that there is a decline in the overall alcohol consumption amongst the members of a certain age group, whereas at the same time, the concentration of high numbers of alcohol abusers are associated with a certain age group. The total number of individuals aged below 65 who abuse alcoholic beverages in America has seen a drastic reduction in the last few years. However, the number of people between the age of 16 and 30 has been rising and has induced a significant short term and long-term effects especially on the health and productivity of the victims. The federal surveys indicate that there is an increased number of people who have been affected by the long-term effects associated with alcohol abuse the since 2009 (Yoshida, 2006).
“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 crippling effects of alcoholism and drug dependency are not confined to the addict alone. The family suffers, physically and emotionally, and it is the children who are the most disastrous victims. Frequently neglected and abused, they lack the maturity to combat the terrifying destructiveness of the addict’s behavior. As adults these individuals may become compulsively attracted to the same lifestyle as their parents, excessive alcohol and drug abuse, destructive relationships, antisocial behavior, and find themselves in an infinite loop of feelings of emptiness, futility, and despair. Behind the appearance of calm and success, Adult Children of Alcoholics often bear a sad, melancholy and haunted look that betrays their quietest confidence. In the chilling silence of the darkest nights of their souls, they yearn for intimacy: their greatest longing, and deepest fear. Their creeping terror lives as the child of years of emotional, and sometimes physical, family violence.
“When I was 13, my dad started drinking more and more. Every day he would come home from work and have beer, lots of it. I didn’t think much of it at first, but then he started getting more angry and violent. He would shout at my mom and me. It was like my father had gone and been replaced with another guy” says an anonymous kid who lives with an alcoholic parent in “How my dad’s drinking problem almost destroyed my family”. The kid depicts that he is so confused, angry and upset especially when his father got fired for going to work drunk. This is one of many children’s voices who suffers having an alcoholic in their family. Most of them are depressed because alcohol has destroyed their family. This is an addiction that does
About 1.3 million adults received treatment for an alcohol use disorder at a specialized facility just in 2013. According to the Proquest database, alcoholism is commonly referred to as the excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages. The world health organization estimates there are 140 million alcoholics worldwide. Alcoholism can lead to ca crashes, crimes, violence, abuse, reduced workplace activity and illness. Also according to centers for disease control and prevention, excessive alcohol use is the third leading lifestyle-related cause of death in America. This paper will examine the pro, con, and my viewpoint on whether or not alcoholism is caused by a lack of willpower or not.
“Alcoholism” is a chronic disorder characterized by dependence on alcohol, repeated excessive use of alcoholic beverages, the development of withdrawal symptoms on reducing or ceasing intake, morbidity that may include cirrhosis of the liver, and decreased ability to function socially and vocationally (“Alcoholism”). Teens have dealt with alcohol and alcoholism for a long time. There are many reasons why teens get addicted to alcohol and many things that happen because of it. There are ways to get treatment. There are many things that teens can do themselves to avoid alcohol and there are many things we and our society can do to prevent teen’s access to alcohol. Peer pressure and teens access to alcohol can lead to the destruction of their lives, the lives of the people around them, and their relationships with the people around them. We need to take measures to prevent this from happening so that they have a chance to better our society, not worsen it.
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...
Underage drinking causes people to make bad decisions, such as; driving while intoxicated, becoming pregnant, and making a complete fool out of themselves. While intoxicated, are just being a few instances that can and will impact your life forever. Some individuals don’t understand what alcohol really does to the body. Beer has empty calories that will make you gain weight. Which is why a lot of alcoholics have larger stomachs, or another term many people use for these large stomachs is, “beer belly.” Some people may say that alcohol helps you escape your problems and is a stress relevant. Alcohol will not only bring more stress onto your life, it will also bring more problems. As much as people may feel alcohol helps, it really won’t help.
College students drink and party a great amount. The average student drinks at least three nights a week and that is the weekend. Most sororities and fraternities encourage drinking. The fraternities make their pledges drink and the kids love it. It makes them loosen up and have a good time meeting new people. Drinking is also a good way for students who do not know anybody to meet new people and feel more comfortable when they go into an unfamiliar place with a lot of strangers around. When someone is drunk they feel more comfortable and able to talk to random people they do not know and have a good time. Once someone becomes familiar with certain people or just being drunk around strangers, it becomes a habit and that is when school work starts to not be important anymore. Students who drink start to stop attending classes because they are hung-over, tired because they did not go to bed, or just do not feel like going because they would like to start drinking again. The!
... Alcoholism is a serious problem in today's society. It is extremely important that the public, including the large groups of users and abusers of alcohol, gain as much knowledge as possible about the symptoms and effects of alcoholism if we ever want to see the reduction of statics involving fatalities, injuries, diseases caused from the use and abuse of alcohol. Education and realization of the effects alcoholism can have on the different aspects of a person's life are the best ways that we can help control the number of alcoholics in the United States.