Is Alcoholism Hereditary - Essay Example

of the of the of the Alcoholism and Hereditary In general, the children of alcoholics are at a greater danger of becoming alcoholics, in comparison to the children of non – alcoholic parents. Several factors have been identified, which promote alcoholism in the children of alcoholics (Is Alcoholism Hereditary?). As such, hereditary factors were not identified as the only cause for the development of alcohol related problems. It has been seen that the children of alcoholic parents are at greater risk of becoming addicted to alcohol, in comparison to the children of non – alcoholics. Children with alcoholic parents see excessive drinking, which could lead to depression. Such depression can, in a few instances, make the child take to drink on growing up (Is Alcoholism Hereditary?). However, it cannot be said that alcoholism is hereditary. It has been established that alcoholism is complex disorder that depends on several genetic factors. It is believed that alcoholism is transmitted to the extent of 49% to 64%. This result was arrived at on the basis of family, twin pair, half sibling, and adoption studies. (Du and Wan 2103). Thus, the development of alcoholism depends on the complicated relationship of several environmental and genetic features. The danger of becoming dependent on alcohol is greater among the children of alcoholic parents, when compared to other children. Several research studies have shown that hereditary is an important factor in promoting alcoholism. (Moelker). Moreover, the sons of alcoholic fathers were seen to be at greater risk than their sisters. It had even been contended that hereditary was significant to the extent of even 50%, in developing alcoholism among the children of alcoholic fathers. In addition, individuals who were frequently on the lookout for excitement and were antisocial to a substantial extent were at greater risk of ending up as alcoholics (Moelker). In this study, hereditary issues related to alcoholism were identified only up to 50 %.This cannot lead to the conclusion that hereditary issues are the only causes for alcoholism. The assumption that alcoholism can be described by a genetic model has several implications. Some of these are the notion that there are genetic, biochemical, physical or neurophysiologic variations. These variations are assumed to be present, even before alcohol related problems arise. There are certain reasonable expectations, with regard to these marker variables. One such expectation is that there could be differences between individuals from families with a positive family history of alcoholism, in comparison to individuals from families with a negative family history (Jung 166). These marker variables cannot be regarded as the sole cause for the development of alcoholism. However, some of the marker variables, such as alcohol metabolism can be regarded as significant and causative factors for the development of alcoholism (Jung 166). Several theoretical explanations have to be considered, due to the diversity found in the parental influence of alcoholism in the child. For instance, there is a difference between the genes that affect recovery or remission and those that influence the expression or development of dependency on alcohol (Knop , Penick and Nicke 391). In addition, recovery is affected significantly by psychosocial factors. This effect is more powerful than the effect of genes that contribute to the promotion of alcoholism. Moreover, a family history of alcoholism could indicate wide ranging vulnerability to influences that could lead to alcoholism (Knop , Penick and Nicke 391). Psychosocial factors play a more powerful role in promoting alcoholism than genetic factors. Familial influence in promoting alcoholism can be genetic. It could also be a reflection of cognitive and behavioral characteristics. These features either interfere with or promote ideal social changes. With regard to 30 year old individuals, some studies have shown that the fathers’ alcoholism on drinking was greatly reduced. This was typically seen in instances where the effect of other premorbid factors were considered. Some of these factors are birth-weight, antisocial personality, and family problems (Knop , Penick and Nicke 392). From the perspective of alcoholism, some studies were conducted on adoption, twin and family. These studies showed that hereditary factors had a major effect on the development of alcohol dependence. Moreover, considerable study of pharmacogenomics has been made in the area of alcohol response, and there is quite some understanding about these features.As a consequence, it is now believed that genetic variants of the principal enzymes of alcohol metabolism can be utilized for obtaining protection against alcoholism. It is now generally accepted that multiple interacting genetic loci, with modest to small effects, promote vulnerability to alcohol dependence (Oscar-Berman and Marinkovic 242). In the year 1989, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) sponsored a multi – institutional programme, titled Collaborative Studies on Genetics of Alcoholism. Under this programme, the NIAAA attempted to correlate genetic factors and alcoholism. Thousands of people were recruited under this program.The individuals selected were from families had been severely affected by alcoholism. Extensive and detailed clinical, neuropsychological, electrophysiological, biochemical data and gentic information were collected in this program (Oscar-Berman and Marinkovic 242). This study identified some chromosomal areas. These areas contained the genes that had a marked effect on developing alcoholism and related phenotypes. A sequential approach was adopted by investigators of the Collaborative Studies on Genetics of Alcoholism. This consisted of genotyping single nucleotide polymorphisms in positional candidate genes situated in the regions of the linked chromosomes (Oscar-Berman and Marinkovic 243). Due to this approach, associations with specific genes that promote the risk of alcohol dependence were clearly identified. However,dependence on alcohol is not exclusively due to hereditary. Nevertheless, the members of a family with a history of alcoholism should be very careful when consuming alcohol. Unlike genetic disorders, alcohol is not inherited. All the same it has been noticed that some families have a greater number of alcoholics, in comparison to other families (Causes of alcohol addiction). Thus, in one US study on alcoholism, it was observed that children from alcoholic families were four times more likely to develop addiction to drink. The reaction of each individual to alcohol is different; yet, tolerance towards alcohol seems to be inherited (Causes of alcohol addiction). Many factors are responsible for developing addiction to alcohol. Although several studies had revealed that alcoholism was promoted by genetic factors to certain extant, none of these have proved that alcoholism is passed from generation to generation, by inheritance. Even though the children of alcoholics are more prone to the risk of alcoholism, it is not correct to say that hereditary factors are the only role players in transmitting alcoholism from generation to generation. Works Cited Causes of alcohol addiction. n.d. Web. 5 December 2011. . Du, Yanlei and Yu-Jui Yvonne Wan . "The Interaction of Reward Genes With Environmental Factors in Contribution to Alcoholism in Mexican Americans ." Alcoholism, Clinical And Experimental Research 33.12 (2009): 2103 – 2112. Print. Is Alcoholism Hereditary? 2011. Web. 30 November 2011. . Jung, John. Alcohol, other drugs, and behavior: psychological research perspectives. SAGE, 2009. Print. Knop , J, et al. "Paternal alcoholism predicts the occurrence but not the remission of alcoholic drinking: a 40-year follow-up." Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 116.5 (2007): 386 – 393. Print. Moelker, Wendy. "Is Alcoholism Hereditary? ." 22 July 2008. Web. Web4Health. 3 December 2011. . Oscar-Berman , M and K Marinkovic . "Alcohol: effects on neurobehavioral functions and the brain." Neuropsychology Review 17.3 (2007): 239 – 257. Print. Read More