Alcoholism During The Great Depression: Article Analysis

likely to becomes unpredictable. For example, the drinker may become easily agitated and abusive. Another area of family functioning which is often affected by alcohol misuse relates to the kind of communications that takes place between family members.

Family problems can be at many levels. The children would lose all respect for the alcoholic parents because they cannot count on him; the

During the early 1900s, around the 1920s, groups such as the National Temperance Council (NTC) and the Anti-Saloon League (ASL) saw numerous problem in America and said problems were described by these groups to be the result of alcohol. According to Dr. S.S. Goldwater, who spoke at the Eighth Annual Meeting of the National Temperance Council on September 20, 1920, alcohol was society’s nemesis and caused mass harm in the forms of higher rates of poverty, industrial accidents, major organ diseases, pneumonia based deaths, and tuberculosis. He also said alcohol was responsible for/aided in muscle tone and memory degeneration, weaker immune systems, too much pressure on hospitals, asylums, and jails, and decreases in skill, the production of

According to the Dual Diagnosis website, “In 2012, as many as 87.6 percent of American adults over age 18 were reported in a SAHMSA…study to have consumed alcohol at some point in their lives…The National Institutes of Health…estimated that 17 million adults in the United States in 2012 had an alcohol use disorder” (“Disease…”). Approximately one in every 12 people either are abusing alcohol, or they are becoming, if not are, victims of alcoholism (National…). Alcohol consumption is especially known in our society’s culture. There are numerous people who like to drink every now and again in moderation; however, there are far too many people who abuse the alcohol and may even be completely dependent on it. Several

Addiction has become a typical distress. Alcohol alone is in charge of roughly 1.8 million passing’s a year around the world, which registers to around 3.2% of passing’s around the world. It’s estimated that over 76 million people are affected by alcohol use disorders. Individuals misuse it since society takes a gander at alcohol as an ordinary piece of life, actually it is regularly advanced. The quantity of heavy drinkers has risen radically throughout the decades. In the 1970's America began to perceive the developing issue of alcohol addiction; in this manner, associations were set up with an end goal to help the general population that needed assistance. The distinctive associations and gatherings in the end lead to the development of

Thomas R. Burke, in the article The Economic Impact of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, writes about how alcohol severely affects our nation. This obviously is in the economic sense. Burke addresses how alcohol is the most common used “drug” in the United States. He informs us that no person in this culture is immune from the epidemic that is alcoholism. He goes on to list all the ages that might be affected -- All the way from youths to the elderly. The article goes on to mention how much alcoholics cost the economy. At this time, 1983 it was a reported $117 billion and it was expected to rise. In 2010 is rose to $249 billion. Burke claims “A recent study estimates that as many as one half of all out homeless in America suffer from alcohol abuse and alcoholism”. If the emotional factors of alcoholism are not enough to want to make us help, then maybe the economic state of our nation will.

When offspring live in an emotional and unstable household, they will have many factors that contribute to their wellbeing. By living with an alcoholic parent it will leave pressure and stress on the child. The negative factors and risks that affect how children of alcoholics will become going into adulthood are stated by Sihyun Park and Karen Schepp. The influences that affect the offspring is their self-esteem, they will have a poor view of themselves as they are living with a

Alcoholism is still a huge social issue within the US, but steps are being taken to fight this behavior. The U.S. has cut DUI deaths by 50% in the last 2 decades and made alcohol rehabs and alcohol treatment programs more widely available; even to inmates in prisons. (The History of Alcoholism in America. 2011)

A dark time in America, it took arguably the worst event in history to end what was, unfortunately, not the end of suffering. The Great Depression summarizes what most Americans were feeling at that time, when the major weaknesses in the modern economy were exposed as America’s credit structure, the feared reality of overproduction, and the government’s misguided economic actions compounded to create an inevitable catastrophe.

Dependance on alcohol has been around ever since its creation and records of writing existed. From Biblical commandments clearly restricting the drink due to its destructive and addictive nature to the celebrities on tv screens and music devices glorifying the substance, alcohol has always been part of various cultures. Being the number one drug problem in the U.S with over 12 million people reportedly being alcoholics and of those 7 million being binge drinkers between the ages 12-20, it comes as no surprise that beneath its shiny and glamorous exterior, this drink comes with its set of problems ("Alcohol Abuse Statistics."). In American society today many people think that being an alcoholic simply stems from laziness and the lack of will to “simply stop.” There is much more to this disorder than having one too many drinks at a bar that people are either ignorant to or just ignore for the sake of judging other individuals. Just like famous English philosopher,William Penn, said: “All excess is ill, but drunkenness is of the worst sort. It spoils health, dismounts the mind, and unmans men. It reveals secrets, is quarrelsome, lascivious, impudent, dangerous and mad.”( "Alcoholism Quotes."). So with all these consequences associated with alcohol, why do people drink? What is alcoholism? Who does it affect? Why does it happen? How can it be solved?

Adult children of alcoholics have many characteristics that reveal that they have had an alcoholic in the family and have suffered because of it. Adult children of alcoholics have very good control over their feelings and behavior. Adult children of alcoholics try to control the feelings and behavior of others as well. The reason they do this is because they are afraid. They are not afraid of wanting to hurt themselves or others, but they fear if they let go of some control their lives will become worse and they will not be able to handle and control situations. The following are characteristics of adult children of alcoholics; fear of emotions or feelings, avoidance of conflict, a high burden of responsibility and constant approval seeking,

Individuals that deal with a stressful lifestyle are more prone to “escape” to an alcoholic “intervention”. Individuals may experience depression and anxiety and they are not able to deal with stress in a positive way; for example, trying to solve the problem or talk to someone. As we know, one glass lead to another one and they replace “drinking time “with leisure or social occupation. As a result, individuals become addicted to alcohol. To overcome alcohol addiction, a person need to be motivated, believe it, and focus on the outcome being abstinent and self-restraint.

What I have not been focusing on is the effects that it can have on a family. A study done by the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, they did a study in 2014 on 17,192 participants. Of those participants, 48.3% of them that had either had abused alcohol or are abusing alcohol got divorced at some point in their lives. The research also showed that 30% of people that didn’t have a problem with alcohol experienced a divorce.

such as a divorce or a strained relationship with children. In many cases, the alcoholic is also

Good job on your post! You brought up some interesting facts that might be happening in this case. You ask how does an alcohol dependency affect the relationship in a marriage. Anytime there is alcohol or substance abuse the family will have issues. When any addiction/abuse has involved the family, their finances are in jeopardy, the family dynamics is disturbed and sometimes even destroyed. Unfortunately, the whole family suffers and just not the perpetrator.