Effects of Alcoholism on the Family Members - Term Paper Example

Effects of Alcoholism on the Family Members Table of Contents Introduction 2. Effects of Alcoholism onthe Family Members 1 2.1 Financial Implications 1 2.2 Emotional Implications 3 2.3 Social Implications 3 2.4 Development of Children under Such Conditions 4 3. Conclusion 5 References 7 Appendix 8 Effects of Alcoholism on the Family Members 1. Introduction Bad habits and lifestyles are known to have adverse affects on the health and reputation of individuals. Solomon et al. (2009) stated that some of these undesirable actions also bear an apparent effect on the people living around them; alcoholism is one of such habits. 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 and hostile conditions prevail in a household where one or more family members are indulged in the consumption of excessive alcohol. 2.3 Social Implications Ministerial Council on Drug Strategy (2001) stated that available literature and statistics denote the occurrence of domestic violence at a greater degree due to the presence of an alcoholic in the family. Angelucci (2007) quoted results from a nationally representative survey of Mexico that is known by the name of ENDIREH. This survey was conducted in 2003 with the aim of analyzing the relation dynamics among the citizens of the region. The survey revealed that every one case of domestic violence among 4 cases was related to alcohol abuse. The following table shows clear differences in the figures of domestic violence of users of alcohol and non-users: Table 2: Comparison of domestic violence instances between users of alcohol and non-users (Gururaj, Girish and Benegal, 2006) The increasing global inflation makes it inevitable for families to maintain a comfortable lifestyle if both the partners are not earning livelihood for the family. World Health Organization (2003) stated in their report that the inclination to excessive usage of alcohol by the working member of the family causes unpunctuality and frequent absenteeism from work. Federal Occupational Health (2003) stated that the lack of attention and decreasing productivity are not appreciated by the employers and may cause the individual to lose his job. Due to excessive alcohol consumption, such individuals are often witnessed to be engaged in arguments and fights over petty issues. Such conduct spoils and defames them in front of the management, thereby making their positions insecure in the organizations. 2.4 Development of Children under Such Conditions The development of children into good humans is a great responsibility for the parents. The provision of a healthy and amiable environment facilitates the development of children into wise and good citizens. A report by World Health Organization (2003) stated that children who have alcoholic parents are witnessed to have more emotional issues and other problems in schools as compared to children from regular homes. National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2009) provided astonishing figures that threaten the development of the future generation; according to a survey by Office of Applied Studies, 7.3 million children resided with a parent who was known to be suffering from alcoholism. World Health Organization (2003) provided the information that 9.7% alcoholic parents send their children to work to increase the level of income in their family. Such forced instances of child labor and reckless decision making might arise as a result of adults of the family being indulged in excessive usage of alcohol. A report by National Association for Children of Alcoholics (2001) stated that children who have witnessed their parents suffering from alcoholism are more likely to acquire the same habits as compared to children from regular homes. A reason for such conduct might be that they assume to get approval of the usage of such inappropriate substances from the parents since it is also commonly consumed by them. The report also stated that children from such homes usually have disciplinary problems and display symptoms of depression. The constant hostile environment and conflicts between their parents develop anxiety disorders in the children. 3. Conclusion Alcoholism is no less than a quicksand that makes one helpless and incapable to come out without attaining help from others. It is such a conduct that has disastrous effects for the user, as well as his family members. The aggravating desire of the user for alcohol makes the family financially unstable since the alcoholic needs seems to occupy priority over the other household needs. Frequent illnesses and injuries become a part of their lives due to which further financial instability arises in the form of medical expenses. Individuals suffering from alcoholism are less productive at work and have an increased probability of conducting acts of domestic violence towards their spouses. Alcoholics make their family member suffer emotional pain in the form of insult, shame and depression. Children being brought up by alcoholic parents are more likely to take similar habits since they have seen excessive usage of it around the house. References Angelucci, M. (2007), Love on the Rocks: Alcohol Abuse and Domestic Violence in Rural Mexico, The Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). Chan, C., (2005), Alcohol Issues in Domestic Violence, Australian Domestic and Family Violence Clearinghouse. Federal Occupational Health, (2003), Documenting the value of employee assistance programs. Gururaj, G., Girish, N., Benegal, V. (2006), Alcohol Control Series 1: Burden and Socio- Economic Impact of Alcohol - The Bangalore Study. New Delhi: World health Organization, Regional Office for South East Asia. ISBN 92 9022 2727, pp 28-50. Ministerial Council on Drug Strategy. (2001), Alcohol in Australia: Issues and Strategies – A Background Paper to the National Alcohol Strategy: A Plan For Action 2001 to 2003/04, Commonwealth of Australia. National Survey on Drug Use and Health, (2009), Children Living with Substance-Dependent or Substance-Abusing Parents: 2002 to 2007. National Association for Children of Alcoholics, (2001), Children of Addicted parents: Important facts. Rehm, J. et al., (2006), The Cost of Substance Abuse in Canada 2002: Highlights, Canadian Center on Substance Abuse, ISBN 1-896323-92-8. Solomon, R., Organ, J., Abdoullaeva, M., Gwyer, L., Chiodo, S. (2009), Alcohol, Trauma and Impaired Driving 4th Edition, MADD Canada. Walker, L. J. (2003), Alcoholism, United Church of God Inc. World Health Organization, (2003), Consequences of alcohol Use, In Get High on Life, pp. 66- 81. Appendix Figure 1: Number of children under 18 years of age living with one or more parents with past year substance dependence or abuse from 2002 to 2007 (Rehm. et al., 2006) Figure 2: Social effects of alcoholism (Gururaj, Girish and Benegal, 2006) Read More