The Effects of Alcoholism on the Family

“Alcoholism has emerged in our time as a unique and highly specific illness. Yet it is a problem that dates from the beginnings of civilization, a subject that has been discussed and pondered as one of the great issues of human life” (Dorris 1). Alcoholism not only affects the addicted, but those around them as well. The alcohol addict can be male or female, adult or child, and almost no family in the United States today goes completely untouched by its affects. In order to understand the effects that alcohol addiction can have on the family as a whole three general areas of knowledge must be covered. Addiction to alcohol in general and its effects on the individual, alcohols effect on the familial unit, and possible treatment options both for the addict as well as the affected family members. Origins of alcohol most likely predate recorded history. Historians believe it was probably discovered even before the Stone Age (Dorris 17). The fact that alcohol played, and continues to play, such an important role in the history of man showcases mans incredible need for the substance. Alcoholism has ravaged every nation since the dawn of its creation. History has been profoundly shaped by its use and abuse. “Alcoholism is a disease which maims and destroys; it costs the United States national economy billions of dollars every single year. Alcoholism, as a disease, ranks as the third highest killer in the United States, only heart disease and cancer claim more lives each year” (Dorris 3). Alcohol has been a thorn in the side of our government since the founding of our nation, so much so that at one point the government tried to ban it all together.
Alcohol is evident throughout many historical texts. The Bible has two stories that deal with the ill effects of Alcohol. First is the story of Noah and his son Ham, “And when he had drank some of the wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent.” (Gen. 9.21) This describes Noah’s son Ham’s trickery to shame his

Cited: Berger, Gilda. Alcoholism and the Family. New York: Franklin Watts Press, 1993. Brown, Stephanie and Virginia Lewis. The Alcoholic Family in Recovery. New York: Guilford Press, 1999. New York: Wiley & Sons, 1988. Dorris, Robert and Doyle Lindley. Counseling on Alcoholism and Related Disorders. Beverly Hills, California: Glencoe Press, 1968. Gonet, Marlene. Counseling the Adolescent Substance Abuser. Thousand Oaks: Sage, 1994. New York: BasicBooks, 1987. The NIV Study Bible. New International Version. Grand Rapids, Michigan: ZondervanPublishingHouse, 1995.