Preview

Alcoholism On Families Research Paper

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
908 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Alcoholism On Families Research Paper
Effects of Alcoholism on Families

The effects of alcoholism on families can cause more damage and pain than any other internal or external influence on the family unit. The impact of the drinker’s abuse or addiction is usually manifested differently with each member of the family and has long-term implications.
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism reports that more than one-half of adults in the U.S. have a close family member who has abused alcohol or is addicted to the drug.

Children of Parents who Drink
Unborn Babies: Women who drink during pregnancy pass the drug to their unborn children each time they consume alcohol. Maternal drinking causes babies to be born with irreversible physical and mental birth
…show more content…
Once they get older, children may not easily make friends. They may hoard things, develop phobias or exhibit perfectionist traits.
Through the effects of alcoholism on families, children often feel they are different that other people and develop a poor self-image that they carry throughout life.
They have difficulties in school and establishing relationships with friends and teachers. And fewer children of alcoholics go to college compared to the national average.
In addition, living in an alcoholic family also suggests that children are more susceptible to child abuse, including incest and battery.
Adult Children of Alcoholics: Once children become adults, the effects of alcoholism on families continue to impact their lives. They experience difficulties trusting others and have relationship issues.
Depression is common, as is anxiety, aggression and impulsive behavior. Adult children of alcoholics continue having a negative self-image, which causes them to make poor choices and accumulate failures in their work, social and family
…show more content…
Codependents, who are also referred to as enablers, further the alcoholic’s drinking problem by trying to protect them and keep them out of trouble.
This may include telling an employer a lie about why the individual didn’t come to work, telling friends stories to explain the alcoholic’s behavior, or handling a responsibility that should have been taken care of by the drinker.
Codependents make the problem worse by permitting the drinking to continue.
Effects of Alcoholism on Families … Is there Help?
Treating alcoholic families is difficult and complex. Often treatment is not entirely successful for family members, even when the alcohol abuser or addict eventually reforms.
The effects of alcoholism in families are difficult to overcome; yet without treatment, they can be devastating for the long-term. With the right approach and support, positive steps can be taken to improve

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Midterm Hb1

    • 3575 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Gruber, K.J., & Taylor M.F. (2006). A family perspective for substance abuse: Implications from the literature. Journal of Social Work Practice in the Addictions, 6(1/2), 6.…

    • 3575 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Growing up with an alcoholic can drastically affect a child’s life. One in five Americans has lived with an alcoholic relative while growing up (“Children of Alcoholics”). I am one of those five. Yes, my father was an alcoholic while I was growing up. It is a touchy subject for me, but it is safe to say growing up with an alcoholic dad was very difficult for my family. After an emotional separation, my father realized what his life had become, and he worked to overcome his alcoholism. Many of these efforts to recover died out quickly, and my dad had to jump from organization to organization until he finally recovered through Help Incorporation. Whenever I ask my dad about why it was so…

    • 2209 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Substance abuse related issues can be treated effectively with a family-based treatment. (Gladding, 2015). According to Gladding (2015), some of the most effective approaches in treating substance-related disorders in families are structural-strategic, Bowen, behavioral, Adlerian and multifamily therapy. The behavior of substance abusers or dependents of substance might have difference interacting with others, whom they come in contact with (Gladding, 2015). Substance abuse effects the entire family. The parent who grown up in a substance abuse home might find it challenging to have a long-lasting and intimate relationship (Gladding, 2015). Whereas, the child who lives in in setting with a substance abuse are more likely to develop social and…

    • 416 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Interventions part2

    • 1119 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The best way to help an alcoholic is to set up an intervention in which part of the family members and or loved ones will sit down together with the alcoholic addict to confront him with the reality of his situations. Since everyone in the family is involved and suffered to the situation of the alcoholic addiction; everyone should step up and make a move to get help through treatment and intervention. “Alcohol addiction affects individuals physically and psychologically which may lead if immediate action is not taken” (Alcoholic Intervention-800-303-2482). Alcoholism intervention is a serious responsibility that must be completed by the help of the family members and or love ones to be prepared in conjunction with guidance from substance professionals throughout the treatment process. According to the Alcoholic Intervention-800, “An alcoholic intervention refers to the process of confronting an alcoholic by immediate associates and family members regarding how his drinking behavior is affecting surrounding people negatively. An alcoholic intervention is aimed at convincing the drinker to seek professional help at rehab centre or treatment facility” (Dec.05). The idea of including family members in the therapy process is to include variety of issues such as: trauma, stress that everyone has been affected by the impact of the tragic addiction illness.…

    • 1119 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Addiction is an issue that many families find themselves struggling with. The film, Addiction: The family in crisis, discusses many of the issues surrounding addiction and alcoholism in the family. Addiction was described in the film as a “family disease”, meaning not only does addiction and alcoholism effect everyone in the family, everyone also has a role to play in the family dynamics which may perpetuate the behavior of the alcoholic. The most notable position prolonging the addict’s behavior is the person who takes the role of the enabler. This person will keep the alcoholic from seeking help by assisting or supporting them in their habit. The enabler can be a wife, a mother, or a friend, but it is usually someone who cares very much for…

    • 1858 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    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…

    • 1166 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Family Therapy Paper

    • 471 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Most people have a reasonable idea what addiction does to the individual who is abusing substances. The issues have been played out in movies and for some people, in real life many times. What most people seem to underestimate is the profound effect addiction has on the family as a whole and some family members in particular. A good family therapy for addiction treatment program is a great way to address family problems created by addiction.…

    • 471 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Children of Alcoholics

    • 1799 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Growing up in an alcoholic family is certainly traumatic. In these homes, children experience a daily environment of inconsistency, chaos, fear, abandonment, denial, and real or potential violence. Survival becomes a full-time job. While most of us know that alcoholism is a disease, too few recognize it as a family disease, which may emotionally, spiritually and often physically, affect, not only the alcoholic but each member of the family. Little emotional energy remains to consistently fulfill the many needs of children who become victims of the family illness. For many years, professional psychologists were barely aware of the vast pool of suffering of the family of alcoholics. They concentrated on healing the alcoholic and felt that it solved the problems of the family as well. Today they realize that the whole family suffers this sickness and all must be made well. By looking at what it is like to live in a alcoholic's home, the side effects, and how to cope with the problem there will be evidence to see how the disease negatively affects the children.…

    • 1799 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Best Essays

    Parental alcoholism is a form of child mistreatment, many children who grow up in home with an alcoholic parent or parents become alcoholics later in later. Growing up in an alcoholic home promotes unhealthy family relations that negatively affect a children’s’ development that leave children at risk for psychological disorders in childhood, adolescence, and well into their adulthood. Children with alcoholic parents usually do not have a secure attachment with the alcoholic parent or parents and often grow up to have problems with attachments to others well into adulthood. Children of alcoholics are also more likely to experience social, emotional, and behavioral difficulties…

    • 3618 Words
    • 15 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Better Essays

    "National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism." Gale Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Detroit: Gale, 2014. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 21 May 2014.…

    • 1035 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Underage Drinking Speech

    • 790 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Alcoholism can affect young children as well, parents play a big role in leading their child…

    • 790 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    When an individual has a disorder with substance abuse and how family is involved, it can be a very uncomfortable situation for both the abuser and family members. When the abuser is an adolescent, the program may need consent from the adolescent before communicating with the parent, whether the communication is over the course of counseling or a one time communication (TIP 31). Both drugs and alcohol affects both sides because an addiction will create problems with communication. When one seeks help for his or her addiction, the entire family should be involved if possible for a successful outcome. Within in this paper, one will locate the system of roles for the family, how family systems vary from culture to culture, and interventions that can be conducted by counselors while working with the family of substance abusing adolescent.…

    • 1230 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Neglected Family

    • 781 Words
    • 4 Pages

    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.”…

    • 781 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Functional Alcoholics

    • 1034 Words
    • 5 Pages

    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.…

    • 1034 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    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.…

    • 2743 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays