Alcoholism's Effect On Families

Alcoholism: Where slurred words are yelled across the room, drunken actions start to consume a person’s body, and the inability to control one’s own self comes into play. This type of scenario is something that I have encountered one too many times within my household. According to a study conducted in 2012, more than 10 percent of children in the United States live with a parent with alcohol problems (National Institutes of Health). As well, “about one in four children age 18 or younger have been exposed to alcohol abuse or dependence in the family” (O’Donnell). Within my family, my dad was the parent with the drinking problem. It always seemed to me that whenever he was stressed out, his solution was to drink, and when he did, he drank heavily.
This disorder can hinder that individual’s relationship with their own self. According to an article titled “Alcoholism’s Effect on Families”, author Tara O’Donnell talks about how a person can become codependent on alcohol (O’Donnell). An alcohol dependent person starts to form a really strong bond with alcohol, which results in them placing that relationship above all other relationships (Gregoire). In conclusion, that alcoholic makes drinking a priority no matter what situation they are in, which was something that my dad did far too often. Making drinking a priority, in the long run, can lead to many health problems for a person. In one article called “Alcoholism and Family/Marital Problems”, it mentions that “drinking heavily is associated with a host of health consequences that will likely need medical attention, such as cardiovascular illnesses, pneumonia, cirrhosis, pancreatitis, and different forms of cancer” (Alcohol Addiction Centers). In fact, family members that are impacted by the abuse of alcohol are said to have a significantly higher healthcare costs (Rhodes). Though, health problems are not the thing that can occur for a person who drinks. In another article, “The Effects on the Family”, author Roger J. Gregoire states that when “the alcohol-dependent family member deteriorates, the family structure begins to fail” (Gregoire). Alcoholism hinders family relationships,
In an article titled “Children of Alcoholics”, the author talks about how children are impacted while having an alcoholic parent (National Association for Children of Alcoholics). There is an estimated number of about 26.8 million children in the United States who are exposed to alcoholism within the family (National Association for Children of Alcoholics). These kids experience neglect, instability, abuse, and the fear of abandonment (National Association for Children of Alcoholics). The fact is, those kids are experiencing these negative side effects of alcoholism within their family first handed. Having to experience those problems so early in life can actually lead those children to become an alcoholic themselves or even marry one (National Association for Children of Alcoholics). In the article “Alcoholism and Family/Marital Problems”, the author states that according to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, about one in every five adults had said that they had a relative who had abused alcohol when they were a kid (American Addiction Centers). Having this early exposure to alcoholism can increase a child’s chances of having problems with alcohol, in fact those kids “are four times more likely to abuse alcohol themselves” (American Addiction Centers). Being a kid who had had an alcohol-dependent parent and witnessing this type of scenario was devastating. Many adults do