Alcoholism as Genetic Predisposition

In the last three decades, the understanding and treatment of alcoholism has come a long way. In fact, most research now classifies alcoholism as a disease. Questions surrounding the hereditary makeup of alcoholic predisposition have also been around for decades, but in recent years there have been a number of studies done to clinically prove that there are certain genetic factors that make alcoholism more or less likely within human populations. Moreover, since different people react in vastly different ways to alcoholic consumption, the idea of alcohol as a "disease" has both proponents and contractors.

This paper will critically examine the evidence surrounding both the disease concept of alcohol and the more recent justification of alcoholism as a genetic predisposition. The main focus of the paper will use the seminal work by Elvin Jellinek, The Disease Concept of Alcoholism (1960) as a way to critique both past and contemporary evidenciary methodology. After a brief review of the literature, the paper will examine Jellinek's theory, and then use various material to access its validity in light of present research. The paper will conclude with an assessment of the evidence and an examination of some possible future research trends.

Initially, one must look at alcohol from a pragmatic juncture. Alcohol itself is formed when yeast grows in sugar solutions without air. When this occurs, the large percentage of the sugar in the solution ferments into carbon dio

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further believes that the onset of a number of symptoms marks the person's passage into the prodromal phase of alcoholism. One of these symptoms, for instance, is the alcoholic amnesia or blackout. A person may not have ingested more alcohol on this particular occasion than usual, and may have been able to carry on cogent conversations or complicated acts, and yet the following day will have little or now memory of what happened during this time. The person then is likely to sneak extra drinks at social gatherings and the drinking is becoming more addictive in the sense that more and more of the person's life revolves around alcohol. This stage may continue for a varied amount of time, usually from six months to five years, before the more crucial phase is realized when the individual learns they no longer have control over their drinking. Denial is exhibited, as are rationalizations, arguments, etc. However, Jellinek believes that this adaptation to excessive drinking has now become so stabilized and part of the person's life that they have now reached chronic addition. The consumption of alcohol is no longer confined to convenient periods such as evenings or weekends, and bouts of drinking may last for several days. The

Category: Medical - A