Alcoholism 2 Essay Research Paper Alcoholism

Alcoholism 2 Essay, Research Paper Alcoholism : Children and the family Society faces problems everyday, however individuals learn to deal with these problems and solve them in the best way they can. One of societies problems that has plagued human kind for generations and still is left unsolved is the problem of alcohol abuse or Alcoholism. Alcoholism has been called the most serious drug problem in terms of number of victims and cost to society. Why people get hooked and why they betray family values has baffled scientists for years. The cost of this terrible addiction, unfortunately falls into the hands of the children in the alcoholic families. I chose to address the topic of alcoholism, because it is of interest to me, and because I experienced it in my childhood. This

particular topic was not chosen simply because of the fact that I grew up with it, but because I want to hear what research has to offer on the topic. I hope that I will have a better understanding of alcoholism and why my father drank so much. It hurts to write about it but I feel that I will grow from this experience. Alcoholism was a part of my life, but I really did not understand what it was all about. I knew it was an addiction and I knew it was common in society. Before writing this paper, I really knew nothing in terms of facts or data related to the topic. All that I knew was that it affected me psychologically because I felt it was in some way my fault. I thought about it a lot and always tried to put it in the back 2 of my mind. That is probably why I knew so little

about it, because I didn t want to. As I started my research on Alcoholism I found that there was extensive information on the topic. Using the University library I collected sources such as books, articles, magazines and most of all, articles from the internet. Organizing the information was difficult, but was found to be valuable in the end. In helping to organize I used a research notebook. So every time I found a new article I filed it in my notebook so as to keep a neat record. During my research process much was learned on the topic, foremost that Alcoholism in the family is very dangerous, and as was stated before is a major problem in society. Not only in America, but worldwide. In the family, family members often become obsessed with the alcoholics behaviour. Family

members often become depressed, angry, frustrated, confused and need treatment as does the alcoholic. This disease has created such a problem that almost every family is affected by it. According to Joel Dinnerstien, a jewish rabbi and doctor, Alcoholism is accountable for fifty percent of all the cases brought to family court (Dinnerstien par. 11). Anger, frustration, these are all outcomes of the terrible addition called alcohol abuse. Injected into the family core before family members realize, this often 3 scary addiction sends a family into confusion. Some of the greatest pressures fall on the children of alcoholics. Children usually experience their parents alcoholism while they are in their maturing stages, and most often childrens minds are affected for lifetimes. This is

not hard to believe due to the fact that many children in America experience these hardships. Dr. Ron Pitzer of University of Minnesota said , A large portion of our population is affected, then, since an estimated 30 million American children live in alcoholic homes (Pitzer par.1). It is hard to escape the problem of alcoholism, prevalent in home across the country, it s presence like an entity. Children usually grow up, not understanding why their parents drink and often times put the blame on themselves. This not understanding can lead to a cycle from generation to generation. When the child is in the maturing stage he/she is very sensitive to these sorts of problems (Alcoholism par.3). The child who is in the alcoholic home usually is emotionally unstable, and has a lack of