Alcohol Addiction in the Family Unit
Alcohol addiction is a disease that plagues many individuals and families in varying cultures. This addiction can be handed down generationally and a cycle surrounding alcohol abuse can potentially be formed. We see that alcoholism effects the individual who is addicted, the children and family that are exposed to addiction and also any effects any marriage between the addicted people or addicted person. Many people in my family have a history of alcohol addiction and it has affected my family in various ways as well as myself as an individual.
When people question the effects of alcoholism, it is common to study how it effects the children who are exposed to this disease. Although my father is no longer …show more content…
Because adolescents have more maturity than children, they are able to understand their environment better than their counterparts. Ritter et al. (2002) found that, “In contrast, childhood exposure to family violence as well as exposure to alcohol-abusing family models were found to increase risk for deviant behaviors among female adolescents” (Ritter et al., 2002) In high school I found myself as an adolescent displaying deviant behaviors and it was not until I was enrolled in counseling that I realized that my behaviors stemmed from when my father abused alcohol when I was a child. Studies by Hussong et al. (2012) found that “Effects for parents’ use of alcohol and cigarettes on adolescents’ own substance use were also found, depending on the age and gender of the adolescent. Thus, these findings indicate that when parents’ increase their use of these substances, adolescents show increased risk for their own substance use” (Hussong et al., 2012) Adolescents consciously or subconsciously, take on the behaviors they are exposed to as they continue to grow. Just as children who were raised by non-addicted parents mimic parts of their parent’s behavior as they age, children who see addiction can in turn display addictive behaviors as …show more content…
In my family, many of the people who were addicted to alcohol either had a divorce or the effects of the alcoholism left an everlasting imprint on the marital unit. Ferreira de Paula Gebara, Ferri, Lourenco, Vieira, Bhona, & Noto (2015) conducted research and found that “A population-based study in Brazil found that the aggressor was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the event in over half of the identified cases of domestic violence [14]. The literature includes several other studies that suggest an association between alcohol consumption and violent behavior among intimate partners” (Gebara et al., 2015). As for-mentioned, being under the influence of alcohol can lead an individual to display inappropriate and vile behaviors one being domestic violence. When this occurs in a marriage the damage can often times be irreversible leading to a host of other issues in a household. Gebara et al. (2015) also found that Although some studies have suggested that alcohol consumption is more associated with the severity of violence acts than to increases in its occurrence [31, 36], others have suggested that it should be related to both [35] and that the association between alcohol and violence becomes more powerful with increased consumption [26, 29]. To better understand how alcohol consumption might be related to a greater severity of domestic violence, it is important to consider not only the
Alcohol addiction is a disease that plagues many individuals and families in varying cultures. This addiction can be handed down generationally and a cycle surrounding alcohol abuse can potentially be formed. We see that alcoholism effects the individual who is addicted, the children and family that are exposed to addiction and also any effects any marriage between the addicted people or addicted person. Many people in my family have a history of alcohol addiction and it has affected my family in various ways as well as myself as an individual.
When people question the effects of alcoholism, it is common to study how it effects the children who are exposed to this disease. Although my father is no longer …show more content…
Because adolescents have more maturity than children, they are able to understand their environment better than their counterparts. Ritter et al. (2002) found that, “In contrast, childhood exposure to family violence as well as exposure to alcohol-abusing family models were found to increase risk for deviant behaviors among female adolescents” (Ritter et al., 2002) In high school I found myself as an adolescent displaying deviant behaviors and it was not until I was enrolled in counseling that I realized that my behaviors stemmed from when my father abused alcohol when I was a child. Studies by Hussong et al. (2012) found that “Effects for parents’ use of alcohol and cigarettes on adolescents’ own substance use were also found, depending on the age and gender of the adolescent. Thus, these findings indicate that when parents’ increase their use of these substances, adolescents show increased risk for their own substance use” (Hussong et al., 2012) Adolescents consciously or subconsciously, take on the behaviors they are exposed to as they continue to grow. Just as children who were raised by non-addicted parents mimic parts of their parent’s behavior as they age, children who see addiction can in turn display addictive behaviors as …show more content…
In my family, many of the people who were addicted to alcohol either had a divorce or the effects of the alcoholism left an everlasting imprint on the marital unit. Ferreira de Paula Gebara, Ferri, Lourenco, Vieira, Bhona, & Noto (2015) conducted research and found that “A population-based study in Brazil found that the aggressor was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the event in over half of the identified cases of domestic violence [14]. The literature includes several other studies that suggest an association between alcohol consumption and violent behavior among intimate partners” (Gebara et al., 2015). As for-mentioned, being under the influence of alcohol can lead an individual to display inappropriate and vile behaviors one being domestic violence. When this occurs in a marriage the damage can often times be irreversible leading to a host of other issues in a household. Gebara et al. (2015) also found that Although some studies have suggested that alcohol consumption is more associated with the severity of violence acts than to increases in its occurrence [31, 36], others have suggested that it should be related to both [35] and that the association between alcohol and violence becomes more powerful with increased consumption [26, 29]. To better understand how alcohol consumption might be related to a greater severity of domestic violence, it is important to consider not only the