Alcohol Abuse and Addiction - The Definition Of Alcoholism, Alcohol Abuse Or Alcoholism?, Prevalence Of Alcohol Abuse Andalcoholism, Alcohol Abuse And Alcoholism Invarious Racial/ethnic Groups
Alcohol is an addictive substance, but not everyone who drinks it becomes addicted. Most of those who drink alcohol do not become alcoholics. Scientists cannot explain what individual traits account for the difference, but they suspect that a wide variety of factors may make a person more susceptible to addictions of all kinds.
Alcoholism was recognized as a disease more than two hundred years ago. In 1785 Benjamin Rush, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and the first physician-general of Washington's Continental Army, wrote an essay on "the effects of ardent spirits," calling intemperance a disease and an addiction. Throughout the nineteenth century, physicians considered intemperance a disease. Opposition to the disease concept was widespread, however, especially among those who advocated a moralistic view of alcoholism. The temperance movement, for example, espoused that alcoholism could be cured through personal dedication or as part of a commitment to God.
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As scientists and researchers learned more about alcoholism, its definition was revised and refined. Most people consider an alcoholic to be someone who drinks too much and cannot control his or her drinking. Alcoholism, however, does not merely refer to heavy drinking or getting drunk a certain number of times. The diagnosis of alcoholism applies only to those who show specific symptoms of addict…
The American Psychiatric Association, publisher of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), first defined alcoholism in 1952 (DSM-I).
DSM-III renamed alcoholism as alcohol dependence and introduced the phrase "alcohol abuse." According to DSM-III's definitions of alcohol abuse, the condition involves a compulsive use of alcohol and impaired social or o…
The Strategic Plan 2001-2005 of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) noted that nearly fourteen million Americans—one in every thirteen adults—have alcohol-abuse or alcohol-dependence problems. As Table 4.3 shows, people ages eighteen to twenty-five are far more likely to engage in alcohol use, binge alcohol use, or heavy alcohol use than those twelve to sev…
Patterns of alcohol consumption vary across racial/ethnic groups as shown in Table 4.4 and Table 4.5. The NIAAA suggests that low alcoholism rates occur in certain groups because the drinking customs and sanctions (permissions) are well established and consistent with the rest of the culture. Conversely, multicultural populations have mixed feelings about alcohol and no common rules; they tend to …
The development of alcoholism is the result of a complex mix of biological, psychological, and social factors. Table 4.6 summarizes risk factors for alcohol use, abuse, and dependency. Genetics and alcohol reactivity (sensitivity) are biological factors. The rest are psychosocial factors. A variety of studies investigating family history, adopted vs. biological children living in the same families…
Based on studies of adopted children and twins, researchers have described several subtypes of alcoholism. Type I alcoholism affects both males and females, usually develops later in life, and is thought to be both genetic and environmental in cause. Type II occurs more often in men, usually develops during adolescence or young adulthood, and is primarily genetic in cause. (See Table 4.8.) Another…
Living with someone who has an alcohol problem affects every member of the family. Children seem to suffer the most. The National Association for Children of Alcoholics (NACoA) estimated that there were more than twenty-eight million children of alcoholics (COAs) in the United States in 1992, including nearly eleven million under the age of eighteen. In "Children of Addicted Parents: Import…
Alcoholism cannot be "cured," if cured refers to one's ability to return to normal social drinking. Many authorities use the term "recovering," as in "recovering alcoholic." Once sobriety is restored, staying sober by learning to cope with the personal and social situations that contributed to one's drinking is an ongoing effort. The 10th Spe…
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