The Effects of Alcoholism on the Family - Term Paper Example

Alcoholism not only affects the health of alcoholics but also threatens the well-being and safety of their family members. The desire of the alcoholics to stay indulged in the consumption of alcohol makes their family members face adverse consequences such as social, financial and emotional sufferings. This paper shall discuss the effects of alcoholism on the family members in the above stated perspectives. 2. Effects of Alcoholism on the Family Members According to Gururaj, Girish and Benegal (2006), there are around 2 billion people in the world who consume alcohol and 76.

3 million amongst those people suffer from diagnosable alcoholic disorders. The habit that initiates from occasional drinking aggravates to alcoholism if the individual loses all control over his actions and does not choose to comprehend the disastrous consequences of such conduct. Effects of alcoholism have been classified in the following manner: 2.1 Financial Implications The alcoholics spend hefty amounts to fulfill their desire of consumption of alcohol. Their excessive spending patterns on the purchase of alcohol attains the highest priority in front of them as other factors like education, household expense etc seem secondary to them.

The following chart reveals alarming figures related to the alcohol costs for Canadian regions for 2002: Table 1: Cost of alcohol in different Canadian Provinces (Rehm. et al., 2006) Gururaj, Girish and Benegal (2006) stated that financial conditions in the rural areas of different countries is even more alarming since extravagant amounts are wasted on the purchase of alcohol, thereby creating shortage of basic necessities of life like food, water, housing etc. Gururaj, Girish and Benegal (2006) quoted the findings of a research study performed in Bangalore in India; 4.

4% of families confessed to considering alcohol as the foremost expense in their households. Chan (2005) pointed out that alcoholics are more prone to pay trips to the doctor than other people due to their deteriorating liver conditions, road crash injuries or frequent fighting instances; these factors also prove to setback the budgets and saving funds of their respective families. A report from Federal Occupational Health (2003) provided results of a general survey that revealed that health care expenses of untreated individuals undergoing alcoholism tend to have 100% more cost as compared to the ones who seek treatment at regular intervals. 2.2 Emotional Implications Walker (2003) explained that family members communicate feelings of shame, anger, fear and frustrations if one of their family members is undergoing excessive alcohol abuse.

They are made to suffer harassment, insult and even physical abuse if the alcoholic member is confronted about his problem. Gururaj, Girish and Benegal (2006) pointed out an interesting effect that has not been discussed in many papers; the partner of the alcoholic develops an unhealthy habit of compromising with the alcoholic behaviour of the family member. The partner may ignore the condition and perform actions that facilitate the continuation of the issue, rather than attempting to cease it.

Among other emotional implications of a family member being excessively involved in the consumption of alcohol are the frequent instances of absence from the house, minimal interaction and aloof attitude with the family members. Tense