How Does Alcoholism Affect Families

Addiction and its effects on families and children have been researched greatly, but with the main focus being on drug use or other high risk addictions. The problems associated with addiction to these drugs are well known and there is a heavy stigma against drug abusers; however, the stigma against a more common drug, alcohol, is not as harsh. Alcohol has been the socially acceptable drug of choice for members of the upper, middle, and lower classes for years. Many people do not realize that the effects of alcoholism on the children and families of the alcoholic parallel the effects of hard drug use. The social dilemma is that alcoholism is destroying families and creates lifelong problems for children and families, but people do not recognize

Therefore, the environment, values, roles, and norms are all extremely important when discussing social issues. In order to address alcoholism within this perspective, one must look at the social surroundings of an individual addicted to alcohol. The interactionist perspective not only considers the physical environment; it also incorporates those influential people around around the alcoholic individual. For example, someone suffering from alcoholism that comes from a long line of heavy drinkers would not have the same values and cultural norms as someone who grew up in a household that rarely drinks. In this situation, alcohol use garners more support than in other groups, and finding assistance to curb addiction would be harder to come by. Similarly, if the majority of a person’s friends are heavy drinkers, they are more likely to drink socially. This social drinking could eventually lead to an addiction that would be difficult to end due to the influence of the individual’s social group. This perspective would consider alcoholism a problem primarily between an individual and their immediate environment and social

From birth to adulthood, children of alcoholics experience disadvantages and are more likely to develop issues with relationships themselves. Children born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) due to an alcoholic parent face physical and mental problems that have long lasting effects on their future. FAS children have difficulties in learning, attention span, judgment, memory, problem-solving, and frequently behavior problems which lead to many other problems later in life. FAS children are more likely to receive special education, be unemployed, and receive a disability pension. This shows that even before birth, an alcoholic’s actions can have a detrimental affect on a child’s