Do Men With Excessive Alcohol Consumption And Social Stability Have An Addictive Personality

“The statistical associations between genetic factors and alcohol abuse are very strong” (McNeece & DiNitto, 2012). However, there is still much debate over the validity of genetics as a definite cause for addiction. Perhaps, the reason for this is because the number of children of alcoholics that go on to become alcoholics is still small. Additionally, genetic predisposition cannot explain the number of cases of alcoholics that did not come from alcoholic parents or families. In fact, addiction can be so prominent, that it remains even after the drug use has ended (McNeece & DiNitto, 2012). Therefore, the biological theory should not be ruled as it is based on what takes place in the body. There is no other theory that can explain how a person could still have addiction symptoms when the substance is absent from their system. Predisposition implies that there is a mutation or malfunction in the body that appears to cause a craving or susceptibility to becoming addicted to a substance.

Today, one out of every thirteen adults abuse alcohol or are alcoholics. That means nearly thirteen million Americans have a drinking problem. (www.niaaa.nih.gov) This topic offers a broad range of ideas to be researched within the psychological field. For this particular project, the topic of alcoholism and the psychological effects on people best fit the criteria. Alcoholism is defined as a disorder characterized by the excessive consumption of and dependence on alcoholic beverages, leading to physical and psychological harm and impaired social and vocational functioning. (www.dictionary.com) Through this project, the most important information regarding personal experiences

Alcoholism is a problem experienced in many societies and covers issues associated with intake of alcohol (Schneider, 1978). In most cases, it is used to refer to addictive and uncontrolled use or abuse of alcohol such that the health, relationships and social status of a person is eroded. Due to its negative effects on users, it is considered as a bad practice in the society. Alcoholism is contributed by many social issues concerning users as well as society and is largely accepted as a social deviance behavior. However, according to Schneider (1992), deviant drinking has been

Alcohol Use Disorder, most commonly known as Alcohol Abuse or Alcohol Dependence, is widely known as problem that occurs with individuals who consumes an enormous amount of alcohol on a regular basis often in a single use. The individual is consumed with the thought of drinking most of the time and often feel as though they need it to continue with living their daily lives, even though, they are not really living at all because the enormous amount of alcohol causes a dysfunction for their daily tasks. It inhibits their ability to take care of their family, have social relationships and performing activities at work. It is believed that genetics can play a massive role towards an individual developing an Alcohol Use Disorder.

Cook, Moore, and Yamada concluded that excessive drinking can affect the completion of high school and college. Wolaver concluded that binge drinking among males and females could risk receiving a lower GPA. A negative correlation was said to be found among females in college, versus a positive one on females who attended high school. With the use of standard regression analysis, by DeSimone, and Wolaver, they were able to find that GPA was lower by 0.4 for binge drinkers. The studies on GPA effected by drinking concluded that it had negative effect. First GPA was concluded by self-reported, second a cross sectional data was used. Add Health was used to study health – related “behavior of adolescent in grades 7 through 12”(Balsa). The study consisted of interviews that were done at home, and were re interviewed a year later (Balsa). “The main interest of this study was abstracted from GPA in school transcripts, which had a linkage to the respondents at each wave” (Balsa). CAPI/CASI questions were used during this process. Although results in males were negative, alcohol still had an effect on GPA. However, for females the coefficient was smaller for binge-drinking and excessive drinking. Male’s excessive alcohol use of 100 drinks per month was related with an increase of 4 % probability of difficulty in school. In “females the coefficient was positive and larger than males and out of four, five were statistically significant”

Webster’s New World Dictionary defines alcoholism as a chronic condition which is mainly characterized by excessive and compulsive consumption of and dependence on alcohol as well as nutritional and mental disorders. This definition depicts alcoholism as a disease that is beyond one’s control. It has however been argued in some circles that alcoholism is a choice and the idea of alcoholism as a disease is a myth. Since it is an individual choice to take alcohol, alcoholism is a consequence of free will. Both sides of the debate are discussed in this paper and it is my conclusion that there is strong evidence that suggests that alcoholism is a disease that needs treatment.

At the beginning of the 21st century, it was estimated that the annual number of deaths related to excessive drinking exceeded 100,000 in the United States alone (“Alcoholism”). In fact, in 1995, 140 million Americans were using alcohol is an abusing way (Ammerman, Ott, and Tarter). “It is a chronic and progressive illness that involves the excessive inappropriate ingestion of ethyl alcohol” (“Alcoholism”). Equally, it can be characterized as an emotional and many times, physical dependence on alcohol. It is thought to come from a combination of a wide range of physiological, social, and genetic factors (“Alcoholism”). Even

In order for an individual to be considered a heavy drinker they would have to drunken five or more drinks on the same occasion on each of five or more days in the past thirty days. If an adolescent had access to only a small shot of alcohol then they could not be classified as a heavy drinker because there would not be enough alcohol in their system to get them drunk. In order to be a heavy drinker a person must have a ready access to a larger amount of alcohol. The effects of an individual heavily drinking does not only put them at risk for substance abuse; it can also effect members of the family. The heavy drinking can lead to another person having psychopathological problem. In the next study, scientist wanted to know if psychopathological problems could also be effected by parenting

The term “alcoholism” describes a drinker who is mentally and physically dependent on alcohol, and who would most likely have withdrawal symptoms upon trying to quit. This dependence prevents most alcoholics from being able to control when they drink and how much they drink. For that reason, alcoholics usually drink to excess despite the consequences. Alcoholism, like any addiction, is a chronic disorder which involves continued use despite negative consequences and requires ongoing treatment and management. This research paper will cover many aspects of alcoholism including the causes and effects of drinking and different treatment approaches.

Addiction is due fifty percent to genetic predisposition and fifty percent to poor coping skills. This has been confirmed by numerous studies. One study looked at 861 identical twin pairs and 653 fraternal (non-identical) twin pairs. When one identical twin was addicted to alcohol, the other twin had a high probability of being addicted. But when one non-identical twin was addicted to alcohol, the other twin did not necessarily have an addiction. Based on the differences between the identical and non-identical twins, the study showed 50-60% of addiction is due to genetic factors (Prescott & Kendler, 1999).

This dysfunctionality is attributed to a higher incidence of addictive disorders (Lander et al., 2013; Wedekind et al., 2013). Addiction is often regarded as an attachment disorder. Possible harmful drinking patterns are often associated with insecure attachment and an inability to regulate emotions (Wedekind et al., 2013). Recently, De Rick and colleges (2009) proposed a correlation between characteristics of personality disorders, depression, anxiety, and alcohol addiction. According to Wedekind et al. (2013) childhood experiences as well as biological factors contribute to the developing attachment styles of individuals. When observed together, the capacity for coping with anxiety, a person’s temperament (arguably inborn), and personality style may correspond with attachment styles and the creation of distinct psychopathologies which over the course of time may lead to alcohol addiction (Wedekind et al., 2013). In addition, research conducted by Wedekind et al. (2013) indicated that a high prevalence of insecure attachment styles is found in alcohol addicted inpatients, and that those who are insecurely attached, display a significantly higher expression of cognitive avoidance (Wedekind et al., 2013).

Statistics are used in a various amount of cases to show the effects on individuals and on the communities. Statistics can also offer advice to different career studies. Within the article, “Do Men with Excessive Alcohol Consumption and Social Stability Have an Addictive Personality?” (Roman & Balldin, 2011), offers some statistical research on the issue on the effects of alcohol consumption. The study was conducted on men that were between the ages of eighteen to sixty-five years old, and they consumed additional alcohol then they wanted to. The men that were in the study have permanent housing, they are not dependent on any substance that is not alcohol or nicotine, and they have some type of income, whether it is a job or a pension. The pivotal point of this research is how alcohol affects the men and if they have an addictive personality or not. The articles research study shows how potentially touches each man that it studies differently: the “mean drunk” or the “happy drunk” or the “suicidal drunk” and so on.

Behavioral genetic research conducted on major health related behaviors such as alcohol consumption and other substance abuse disorders has shown that these disorders are an amalgamation of different components. According to Kimura and Higuchi (2011), “alcohol dependence is a common disorder that causes physical, psychological, and social problems” (p. 213). Plomin and Defries and Knopik and Neiderhiser (2013) stated that the path to alcohol dependence, depends on a multitude of factors, such as in the development of tolerance and dependence, the amount of drinks one has and whether one decides to drink or not (p. 297). The critiqued article The Genetics of Alcohol Dependence by Marcella Rietschel and Jens Treutlein uses association, linkage and genome-wide association studies to show that specific genetic variants are involved in creating alcohol dependence.

around physically, mentally, and socially. A workaholic is someone who has a compulsive need to work, however; an alcoholic is someone who persistently needs to drink alcohol. Although the desires are different, they still are affected by addiction the same way.

Investigation of the ACOAs syndrome has had weak support from scientific researchers. Generally, children from alcoholic families display a personality different from those of nonalcoholic families. Children from alcoholic families are high-strung, outgoing and risk takers. These differences, however, do not map up onto ACOA standards profile and also don’t differentiate between non-ACOAs and ACOAs. To add unto that, there lacks genuine evidence to prove that ACOAs display higher levels of “codependent” personality traits. Nevertheless, there is a high likelihood for ACOAs to label themselves as codependent, than non-ACOAs (Jones, Perera-Diltz, Salyers, Laux, & Cochrane, June 06, 2007).