Alcoholism Theories by Alcoholic Anonymous Alcoholism itself is a complicated issue. There are many factors that can influence or affect a persons behavior around alcohol that range from family life to stress and problems created from work, friends, and money, to name a few. Just as there are many factors, there are many ideas on how alcoholism is caused and why it happens in only a small percentage of the population. These ideas are all very different and there are no concrete answers as of yet. Alcoholic Anonymous was found in 1930 and became largest organization in US helping alcoholics to release from disease. A lot of theories of alcoholism have been developed in AA and AA specialists successfully implement them in practice. One theory on alcoholism and its causes developed by AA specialists is the Biochemical Theory.
It attempts to explain heavy intake of alcohol using physiological and biochemical mechanisms, such as heredity and the quality of home life for children. There have been numerous studies done on family heredity and its link to alcoholism, but each one doesnt produce the same results. Dr. Armak did a study on family histories and family links with alcoholism. His study produced results that showed a strong link with alcoholics and previous alcoholics in the family. He produced numbers that showed alcoholism between brothers of known alcoholics was 21 percent, among sisters nine percent, among fathers 26 percent and among mothers two percent compared with general frequencies of three to four percent for the general population. Opponents say that there could be a number of reasons, such as shared cultural and environmental factors instead of shared genes. A second study was conducted by Dr.
The Essay on Alcoholism Alcoholics And Family Members
Alcoholism is a treatable illness from which as many as two-thirds of its victims recover. Alcoholism is a family disease and affects not only the alcoholic but also members of the family. Society is more concerned today than ever to learn the true form of alcoholism. Today rather than treating it like a disease alcoholism has become more of a moral weakness, which causes detrimental problems for ...
Donald Goodwin that used adopted children in Denmark. The study showed that sons of alcoholics were at a greater chance of developing alcoholism than the sons of non-alcoholics, 18 percent versus five percent. A study of the same type was conducted by Dr. Ann Roe in New York City. She used fostering agencies around the city and studied 36 children who had an alcoholic for a biological father. Each child had been taken out of the home by the age of 10.
There was also a control group of children who had no genetic link to alcoholism and were also in foster homes. The follow-up came when the children were around 30 years old, the study showed no difference between the two groups in adult drinking behavior. This shows that studies can show different things. This makes it harder to pinpoint alcoholism when there are conflicting studies on only one aspect of alcoholism. Psychological Theories are the second main set of scientific theories. There are three main focuses including personality traits, learning theory and psychoanalytic theory. A study was done by Blane that suggests personality traits such as low frustration tolerance, sociability, feelings of inferiority combined with attitudes of superiority and fearfulness of dependency.
Opponents of this theory state that these traits are common in many other people and are not just associated with alcoholics. The study was also unstructured and uncontrolled by nature making it hard to correlate solidly with alcoholism. The third type used in AA programs is psychodynamic interpretations of alcoholism. Dr. McCord used three basic positions to base his ideas on. The Freudian view that alcoholism results from one or more unconscious tendencies, including self-destruction, oral fixation and latent homosexuality.
He states alcoholics have a powerful urge to destroy themselves because of guilt and a need for punishment caused by unacceptable views and wishes. The second of his ideas is the oral longing, which is a sexual longing, a need for security, and a need for the maintenance of self-esteem simultaneously. This is thought to come from difficult family settings that lead to oral fixations. Homosexuality is also linked with this by the theory that the youths father dejects him and it forces the child into independence, which is experienced as rejection and deprecation. The child is then left with needs for oral indulgence and with feelings of inadequacy about his masculinity. The homosexuality is latent, as the alcoholic thinks he can subdue it through alcohol. These theories dont provide much to test for accuracy, but are interesting anyway.
The Essay on Jean Piagets Theory on Child Dvevelopment
Switzerland he passed away September 16th 1980. Jean Piaget’s theory as 4 developmental stages these are, * The Sensorimotor Stage (birth-2 years) * The Preoperational Stage (2-7 years) * The Concrete Operational (7-11 years) * The Formal Operational Stage (11 years plus) All of these 4 developmental stages have sub-stages for each age range. Sensorimotor Sub-stages Simple reflexes - (birth-1 ...
They are fairly different from other ideas on the causes of alcoholism and can help a person understand other views more easily. Thr ar svral diffrnt typs of mtings. Thr ar 2 typs of opn mtings. On is opn spakr mtings which ar opn to both alcoholics and nonalcoholic. In this typ of mtings th mmbrs of A.A. shar thir storis, thir problms with alcohol, what brought thm thr, and how thir lif has modifid sinc attnding A.A.
Th othr typ of opn mting is discussion mtings. A mmbr discusss brifly thir xprincs with alcohol, and thn lads a discussion on rcovry or anothr alcohol rlatd problm brought up by somon at th mting. Closd discussion mtings ar th sam as opn discussion mtings, but ar for alcoholics and prospctiv A.A. mmbrs/ popl who may hav drinking problms only. Thr ar also stp mtings, which ar normally closd. At ths mtings on of th Twlv Stps ar discussd.
Alcoholics Anonymous has xpandd its locations to includ holding mtings in both corrctional, and tratmnt facilitis. By doing this thy ar abl to xtnd hlp to popl who ar in nd, but unabl to go to mtings. Obviously popl in jail or prison cannot lav to attnd rgularly schduld mtings. Patints in tratmnt facilitis ar also hlpd by ths mtings. Thy ar in tratmnt and rcovring, but also ar rciving counsling and/or thrapy along with bing abl to attnd mtings. Th Alcohol Safty Action Projct (A.S.A.P.) and Driving Whil Intoxicatd (D.W.I.) may hav Alcoholics Anonymous mmbrs conducting informational mtings as part of thir programs.
Ths ar not rgular A.A. group mtings, but informational mtings about A.A. Social factors also affect whether or not a person will consume alcohol, and if they do the amount of alcohol a person consumes. AA programs based mainly on this theory They also affect how the person will act while intoxicated. An example of social influences is the father of the bride at a wedding. It will play a large part in determining how much he drinks through the evening.
The Essay on Alcoholics Anonymous Alcoholism Recovery Organization
Alcoholics Anonymous Alcoholics Anonymous Alcoholics Anonymous Essay, Research Paper Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is perhaps the best known and most successful alcoholism recovery program. Founded in the United States in 1935 by Dr. Robert Smith and Bill Wilson, by the 1990 s the organization had grown to more than 93, 000 groups in 131 countries, with an estimated membership of over 2 million. AA ...
They will also decide whether or not he decides to get in his car and drive home, risking his live and many others. There are formal and informal influences, the formal being legislation and penalties for drunk driving and the informal will be the guests and friends at the wedding who will try to persuade him to let someone else do the driving. With social factors in mind, finding ways to prevent alcohol related problems should relate at least somewhat around these factors. Social factors influence people just as much if not more than laws and jail time. All of these ideas on alcoholism and its causes are just the tip of the iceberg. It is a complicated issue with many complicated ideas on how it occurs, why it occurs, and how it would be best prevented. Just as there many ideas on its causes, there are just as many if not more on treatment and prevention methods. There are many theories out there which can be taken into consideration, but there is no solid answer to alcoholism as of yet.
Th symbolic intractionist thory of Rudy should also b adoptd as th basis for public policy tratmnt and prvntion programs. ssntially, w hav covrd th symbolic lmnt of th thory-human affairs ar composd of mor than mrly physical activitis; thy also includ symbolic factors which, in this cas, involv spiritual nds. Th intractionist lmnt mphasizs th collctiv natur of most human bhavior. Th argumnt with rspct to alcoholism is that th individual drinks dviantly as a part of collctiv action, and h rcovrs as a part of collctiv action: “From an intractionist prspctiv, dviant dsignations ar bst viwd as outcoms or culminations of many collctiv actions btwn participants”. Tratmnt and prvntion programs, thn, should mphasiz th communal, collctiv natur of both alcoholism/addiction and rcovry from alcoholism/addiction. Crtainly pr prssur plays a rol in alcoholism/addiction, and pr prssur can also play a part in initiating rcovry. Th problm is that “Prssur” is not what works in AA, but, rathr, group accptanc, group sharing, group involvmnt in positiv, halthful activitis.
Th individual may b bullid or prssurd into using alcohol and drugs, but h will not b bullid or prssurd into succssful, long-trm rcovry. This must b, as in AA, a mattr first and last of individual choic, individual rsponsibility, individual commitmnt–always within th communal nvironmnt such as is providd by Alcoholics Anonymous and such as is rcommndd by Rudy.
The Essay on Alcoholism Children Of Alcoholic
Alcoholism Symptoms, Effects, and Treatments Mandy Whittier 12 October 2001 General Psychology Professor Graves Alcoholism When the words "substance abuse" are heard, most frequently the thought of using marijuana, cocaine, heroin, or some other illegal drug pops into mind. Alcohol, however, can be abused in the same manner as the above mentioned illegal drugs. Abnormal craving for alcohol can be ...
Bibliography:
Alcoholics Anonymous. New York, Works Publishing Company; 1939 Alcoholics Anonymous. New York, Alcoholics Anonymous Publishing, Inc.; 1955 Allen, James. As A Man Thinketh.
Toronto, The Musson Book Co., Ltd.; ND Fosdick, Harry Emerson. The Meaning of Service. New York, Association Press; 1927 Kurtz, Ernest. Not-God – A History of Alcoholics Anonymous. Center City, Hazelden Educational Services; 1979.
