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For years people have argued that alcoholism is a choice and not a learned or inherited disease. These people will normally agree that yes, children are in fact influenced by family, but purely of a social nature, and that this disease is actually caused by poor economic status, poor social upbringings, or merely by imitating the behaviors of those who raised them. However, research has proven that in a great deal of cases there is in fact enormous basis for alcoholism being a genetic or inherited disease. While genetics cannot predict alcoholics very well, research can show that one can be born to be an alcoholic; the action and reaction taken in spite of or because of this gene however determines the outcome. When paired with a poor social upbringing it can prove to be quite difficult for one to overcome the influences that are trying to determine their lifestyle choices. As with everything in our lives alcoholism is a product of Nature versus Nurture, completely made up by both.…
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There is great debate of nature versus nurture. What are we really a product of? Genetics, surprisingly, do play an important part in how people turn out. In the instance of a son of an alcoholic, raised by the alcoholic, that turns out to be an alcoholic, almost anyone would expect that to happen. But what happens when the son of an alcoholic is adopted out and raised by non-alcoholic parents? Does he still turn out to be an alcoholic? Interestingly enough, yes, he does turn out to be an alcoholic. According to Campbell (2010), results revealed that having an alcoholic biological parent greatly increased the risk of their offspring developing alcohol abuse and dependence symptoms. Gene-environment studies on adopted away children have frequently shown increased risk for alcohol misuse in adoptees from an alcoholic biological background, and revealed that alcohol abuse by the adoptive parents is not associated with greater risk of alcohol abuse in the adopted child, suggesting a minor influence of environment.…
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Individuals who carry a low-activity ALDH2 (ALDH2*2) display high blood acetaldehyde levels after ethanol consumption, which leads to dysphoric effects, such as facial flushing, nausea, dizziness, and headache ("Asian alcohol phenotype"), which result in an aversion to alcohol and protection against alcohol abuse and alcoholism. Mimicking this phenotype may reduce alcohol consumption in alcoholics (Cortínez, & Sapag,…
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2. Debates as to whether alcohol abuse is biologically determined or culturally influenced are most relevant to the issue of…
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* Family and twin studies have demonstrated that genes contribute towards the development of alcohol dependence, with heritability estimates of between 50 and 60 % for both males and females. McGue, 1999…
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Among some tribes, the rates are as high as 1.5 to 2.5 per 1,000 live births” (FASDCE 2007). Aside from the health issues associated with heavy drinking, alcoholics also affects their surrounding families. Many family members feel ashamed, guilty, resentful and even hatred towards the alcoholic, such feels puts stress on the family. Family members may even resort to changing their own behavior to behave more like the alcoholic, which may turn them into an alcoholic as…
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In the first section, The Biology of Life, it sates that cells perform essential functions to sustain life, DNA contains instruction needed to direct the cells, RNA carries/ transcribes/ and translates instructions into proteins, and proteins do the work of the cells. In section two, Genes and Heredity, I learned that: Genes are segments of DNA, Traits are controlled by alleles, a person’s inherited potential is their genotype, autosomal patterns include recessive/ dominant/ incomplete dominant/ and codominant, and some inherited disorders are sex-linked disorders. In the third section, Gene-Environment Interactions, I learned that: Experience expectant/dependant focuses on the unique aspects of environment, genotype-environment correlates stress between child and the environment, genotype sets upper and lower limits, probalistic epigenesis refers to a process based of elements of probability and chance, quantitive genetics try to separate infuence of genetics, researches in genetics often study same-family twins, and intelligence go hand in hand with health problems. In the fourth section, The Physiology of Thinking and Feeling, I learned that: The basic components of the nervous system are central and peripheral…
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References: Prescott, C. A., Madden, P. A. F., & Stallings, M. C. (2006). Challenges in genetic studies of the etiology of substance use and substance use disorders: Introduction to the special issue. Behavior Genetics, 36(4), 473-482.…
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In first place, family behavior is a kind of influence to become an alcoholic because this disease could be happen by heredity. In accordance with an article from a web site, a group of scientific found that “hereditary factors can to determine their development of the disease because these individuals are capable of metabolizes alcohol, and also they can has tolerance of high levels of alcohol in the blood.”(chicagotribune.com) Also children see their parents as role models so they will to do the same actions. If they drink, why I can’t? In the book, Arnold’s friend is sharing the same situation as him, both has alcoholics fathers. The difference is that each father has a different behavior, I mean, the father of Arnold demonstrate being depressed but when he is drunk he dance and play saxophone. In the other hand, the father of his friend is a violent person who always mistreat his son. Is interesting because both has 14 years old, and in no time of the novel is shown an intention to drink alcohol from their…
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Therefore it would be unwise to assume that all children who experience AOD abuse in their families of origin will exhibit similar behaviors. However, studies have shown that children who grow up in homes where AOD‘s are abused often view themselves as worthless, can feel unimportant as a result of being consistently rejected, and may feel responsible for their parents substance abuse.” Alcoholism and other drug addiction have genetic and environmental causes. Both have serious consequences for children who live in homes where parents are involved. The web site Hope Networks.org states “More than 28 million Americans are children of alcoholics; nearly 11 million are under the age of 18. This figure is magnified by the countless number of others who are affected by parents who are impaired by other psychoactive drugs.” Alcoholism and other drug addiction tend to run in families. This puts children of addicted parents at more risk for alcoholism and other drug abuse. Hope Networks.org also reports that, “Biological children of alcohol dependent parents who have been adopted continue to have an increased risk of developing alcoholism.” Additionally they also stated that recent studies suggest a strong genetic component, particularly for early onset of alcoholism in males. Sons of alcoholic fathers are at fourfold risk compared with the male offspring of non-alcoholic fathers.”…
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There is evidence that genetic plays a role in the development of alcohol and drug dependence through environmental factors. The environmental factors that play a role in genetic in addiction pertains to risk factors. According to Thomas and Osborn (2013), the genetic-environmental interaction consists of various sources of risk factors such as stress, economic hardship, family, and surrounding oneself with substance users. Additionally, Dick and Agrawal (2008) illustrate that individuals that share the same gene are more likely to be at risk for alcohol and drug dependence based on a twin study. However, society demonstrate that if one family members is an alcoholic another member may be at risk. In this case, the gene in one member can within another member, however, individuals may need to go through testing in order to determine if genetic is a factor that is contributing to an addiction. Additionally, genetics plays a role in determining alcohol or drug dependence through a wide range of genes instead of a single gene. Genes play a role in drug dependence but it is not deterministic or the sole reason an individual struggle with an…
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This week I decided to do a reflection on an article about "Alcoholism" I read a few years back. Alcoholism, is a progressive illness involving excessive ingestion of alcohol. Alcoholism, as opposed to merely excessive or irresponsible drinking has been variously thought of as a symptom of psychological o social stress or as a learned behavior. More recently it has come to be viewed as a complex disease . Alcoholism develops over a period of years. A common symptom includes placing excessive importance on the availability of alcohol. Alcoholics have a high tolerance to alcohol, consuming more and showing less effects than others. Alcohol is a leading cause for death which causes nearly 4 percent of deaths worldwide, more than Aids, tuberculosis, or violence. Approximately 2.5 million people die each year from alcohol related causes. I also choose this topic because a week ago as you know, my father died in his sleep. He was an alcoholic for over 20 years, on and off trying to get sober. At times my father drank about 5 or 6 cups of rum and coke daily until he drank himself to death. What my father neglected to realize was alcoholism can lead to organ damage such as cirrhosis of the liver, epilepsy, or gastritis. Alcoholism is a disease, it sometimes is genetic and environmental factors have plenty to do with its development. An example in this case would be my grandmother, she drinks beer all through the day and ever since my father was little seeing this probably caused him to want to drink as well. Alcoholism's first stage is craving; a strong need for the drink. Second is a loss of control which is where you become unable to control or limit one's drinking. The third sage is physical dependence such as withdrawal symptoms. The fourth and final stage is tolerance, the need to drink cup after cup to achieve your high or buzz. Characteristics of severe physical dependence are cravings and…
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Therefore, not only does a person obtain certain alcoholic genes from their parents, but if the parents are alcoholics, then the person is also exposed to the unhealthy living environment, giving a more likely chance to become an alcoholic as well. Having an alcoholic parent does not only affect the child’s life, but the lives of future children, if the gene is passed on.…
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Don’t you ever wonder how your different genetics affect you and the way it works. My different type of genetics have affected me in many ways. I have genetic disorders, my first is asthma, i’m gonna be talking about that. Then the next is eczema, like a skin disorder or rash. After, is the genetic/ heritable trait which is my birthmark and my eyes. Then last but not least is the punnett squares and how that affects me.…
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Alcohol related liver diseases are a wide range area which refers to a general term named as alcoholic liver diseases. Millions of individuals around the world get affected with liver diseases due to high alcohol consumption. Several risk factors have been analysed that affects the risk of development and evolution of liver disease. The primitiveness and estimation of alcohol related alcoholic liver diseases depends on the pattern and term of alcohol consumption, presence of liver inflammation, diet, nutritional status and genetic composition. Sex, ethnicity, obesity, iron overload and infection can also be possible factors that affects in the development of liver diseases.…
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