Essay about Alcohol and Family

What are the effects of alcoholism on a marriage or family? The research provided in this paper will speak about alcoholism, the education for young adults regarding alcoholism, and all the ways that alcoholism can affect the family dynamic. Alcoholism can affect families financially, emotionally, physically, etc. This research paper will also give recommendations on educating young adults at an early age when temptation might arise to try alcohol or begin drinking. This topic is important because alcoholism is a growing problem in many countries such as the United States.

As a psychiatric nurse I see on a daily basis how alcoholism is affecting not only older adults and families, but how it is affecting young adults and their relationships with others.

This organizational website sets out to explain the prevalence of alcohol use and disorders in the United States. Alcohol use can occur in underage individuals, pregnant women, college students, and any other individuals that decide to partake in heavy alcohol use. This source also shows how alcohol use can lead to economic or global burden, family consequences, and alcohol related deaths. This source is useful for my research paper because it gives me statistics related to alcohol abuse, for all types of individuals at different stages in life. There are other sources that I feel will be useful for my research purposes as well. But this source stuck out to me as it is packed full of statistics and is formed by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

This scholarly article sets out to explain binge drinking; its intensity, prevalence, and frequency during 2011 in the United States. Results of this article showed that the Midwest was an area with the highest prevalence of binge drinking. Also, that binge drinking was most common among individuals between the ages of 18-34. This article discussed races in which the prevalence of binge drinking was greater and races in which the intensity of binge drinking was greater. This source is useful in my research paper as it gives exact results from a performed study regarding binge drinking. These results were based off race, household income, disability status, and educational attainment. This source can also be used to raise awareness to reduce the statistics of binge drinking in young adults.

This journal article sets out to explain the effects of alcoholism in 1988 on the family unit. This article discusses the findings on spouse, children, and blood relatives that are alcoholics, as well as discussing the costs related with alcoholism. This article gives specific examples of percentages of individuals, divorces, and separations that are affected by alcoholism. This source is useful in my research paper as it gives percentages of different areas of the family unit that are affected by alcoholism. This paper also discusses cost related to alcoholism and how the cost affects the family as a whole.

This scholarly article sets out to explain the effects of how alcoholism affects family interaction. This study was performed by videotaping the interactions between he family members, while the alcoholic father sat as the centre. This article found that in alcoholic families the interactions were friendlier and more dominant than those of families without an alcohol problem. This source is useful in my research paper as it gives specific examples of how interactions are rated between the alcoholic family member and the other members of their family. These results are given by rating areas of involvement, and how calm or anxious the alcoholic family members are versus that of nonalcoholic families.

This journal article sets out to explain binge drinking in young adults, the outcomes of heavy alcohol use, and screening or prevention in adolescents. This source discusses a recent study that showed in 13 to 20-year old’s, 44% of the binge drinking sessions involved hard liquor versus beer that was involved in less than a third of binge drinking sessions. This article also explains that half of the risk for alcoholism is environmental while the other half of the risk comes from genetic factors. The prevention strategies for pediatrician use in high school aged children is to ask two questions; the first is in past year how many days have you had more than a few sips of a beer. The second question is if your friends drink, how many drinks do they usually have. This source is useful in my research paper as it gives more statistics regarding alcohol use in adolescents as well as giving statistics regarding how binge drinking can lead to alcohol abuse. This source will give me prevention strategies and good examples on education adolescents against the effects of heavy alcohol use.

This journal article sets out to explain the epidemiology of substance use in the US. As well as the effects of fetal exposure and medical, behavioral, and psychiatric problems in kids due the parent’s substance use. This article states that in rural areas children have a greater risk for mental health problems if their parents have substance abuse disorders. This article also speaks of methods to engage a family that is affected by a substance use disorder. This source is useful in my research paper because it talks about different ways children or the family are affected by substance use disorders. This source also gives statistics regarding the medical affects of a substance use disorder on fetal development. This source will be beneficial to show several ways that alcohol abuse affects the family dynamic.

References:

1. “Alcohol Facts and Statistics.” National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Aug. 2018, www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health/overview-alcohol-consumption/alcohol-facts-and-statistics.
2. Kanny, Dafna, et al. “Binge Drinking- United States, 2011.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, vol. 62, no. 3, 22 Nov. 2013, pp. 77–80., www.cdc.gov/mmwr/pdf/other/su6203.pdf?utm_source=H2RMinutes PCMH Nov. 26, 2013&utm_campaign=PCMH-AC Minutes 11/19/13 &utm_medium=archive#page=79
3. Schoenborn, Charlotte A. “Exposure to Alcoholism in the Family: United States, 1988.” Centers for Disease Control, no. 205, 31 Sept. 1991, pp. 1–14., doi:10.1037/e608822007-001.
4. Schweitzer, Robert, et al. “Alcoholism and Family Interaction.” Drug and Alcohol Review, vol. 11, no. 1, 1992, pp. 31–34., doi:10.1080/09595239200185051.

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