Perspectives Case Study Assignment
Perspectives Case Study Assignment
Abraham has an alcohol addiction. His addiction started when he was 12 years old as he was drinking his father’s whisky and had difficulty attending school. Abraham states that drinking makes him feel like a ‘big man. If Abraham does not have an alcoholic drink, he becomes quiet and unhappy. His family are all big drinkers and at family parties they drink excessively.
The biological approach states that behavior is caused by bodily processes and structures such as; brain neurotransmitters and hormones. It also believes that behavior is caused by genetic influences. According to Sammons, ‘The things that people think and feel, say and do are caused, one way or another, by electrochemical events occurring within and between the neurones that make up their nervous system, particular those in the brain.’ In Abraham’s case, his excessive drinking could be related to the genetic assumption. In the biological approach towards addiction, it is considered that the brain is damaged to cause addiction.
According to the biological approach, addiction is a genetic influence. Studies demonstrate that there is a link between genetic influences and addiction. Twin and adoption studies are considered a key tool within the biological theory due to their level of similarity. Identical twins shares 100% of their genes where as non-identical twins only share 50%. Research has shown that within identical twins if one twin is alcohol dependant, there is about a 60% chance the other twin will develop this dependency also. ‘The first indication of a possible genetic influence comes from the studies of families of alcoholics, where it has been repeatedly shown that the chances of a child developing alcoholism as an adult increase with the number of alcoholic relatives, the severity of the alcohol problems in those relatives, and the degree of genetic closeness to the ill relative (Schuckit et al. 1972; Goodwin 1976).’ The twin studies are the most
Abraham has an alcohol addiction. His addiction started when he was 12 years old as he was drinking his father’s whisky and had difficulty attending school. Abraham states that drinking makes him feel like a ‘big man. If Abraham does not have an alcoholic drink, he becomes quiet and unhappy. His family are all big drinkers and at family parties they drink excessively.
The biological approach states that behavior is caused by bodily processes and structures such as; brain neurotransmitters and hormones. It also believes that behavior is caused by genetic influences. According to Sammons, ‘The things that people think and feel, say and do are caused, one way or another, by electrochemical events occurring within and between the neurones that make up their nervous system, particular those in the brain.’ In Abraham’s case, his excessive drinking could be related to the genetic assumption. In the biological approach towards addiction, it is considered that the brain is damaged to cause addiction.
According to the biological approach, addiction is a genetic influence. Studies demonstrate that there is a link between genetic influences and addiction. Twin and adoption studies are considered a key tool within the biological theory due to their level of similarity. Identical twins shares 100% of their genes where as non-identical twins only share 50%. Research has shown that within identical twins if one twin is alcohol dependant, there is about a 60% chance the other twin will develop this dependency also. ‘The first indication of a possible genetic influence comes from the studies of families of alcoholics, where it has been repeatedly shown that the chances of a child developing alcoholism as an adult increase with the number of alcoholic relatives, the severity of the alcohol problems in those relatives, and the degree of genetic closeness to the ill relative (Schuckit et al. 1972; Goodwin 1976).’ The twin studies are the most