Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

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Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

• FWS 235

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Problem Drinking

• The use of alcoholic beverages resulting in
• Some type of damage or harm to drinker
• Damage or harm to drinkers family
• Damage or harm to drinkers community
• Alcohol abuse-form of problems drinking that
  involves a repeated maladaptive pattern of
  drinking leading to significant impairment or
  distress.

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The Expense of Alcohol

• The expense at work
• Reduced productivity
• Off-the-job absenteeism
• On-the-job absenteeism
• Work-related risk factors that encourage problem
  drinking
• Pro-alcohol cultural factors
• Lack of social controls
• Alienation of employees from their jobs
• Stress in the workplace

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Alcohol and the Law

• Public intoxication
• DUI
• Alcohol related to
• Homicides
• Suicides
• Assaults
• Rape
• Property offenses
• Public order offenses

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Alcohol

• Alcohol acts as
• Disinhibitor of aggressive behavior
• Intensifies anger
• Trigger for aggressive behavior
• Relaxer of social norms

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Alcohol Related Accidents

• Auto accidents
• 100,000 a year
• 40 of crashes are alcohol related
• Falls-13,000 deaths annually
• Drownings-38 of swimmers up to 31 of boaters
• Fires-64 of incidence in those with .10 or
  higher BAC

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Impairment Levels and Laws

• Intoxicated at .10 in most states
• Intoxicated at .08 in small number of states
• Zero-tolerance for underage drinkers
• Starting at .02 increase risk of accident
• BAC at .01/.02 impairs tracking, information
  processing, and attention sharing

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Impairment Levels and Laws

• Commercial Motor Vehicles Safety Act of 1986
• .04 BAC for commercial truck drivers, commercial
  shippers, and aviators (some proposed zero)
• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• Set the standard for states BAC at .10

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Risk Factors

• Risk factors that contribute to an increased risk
  of crashing in an alcohol related crash
• Youthfulness
• Gender
• Combination of medicines

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Countermeasures

• Open container bans
• Adoption of sobriety checkpoints
• Administrative license revocation
• Mandatory jail sentences for crashes under the
  influence

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Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

• Preventable major birth defect among children
  whose mothers consumed alcohol during pregnancy.
• Growth deficiency
• CNS damage
• Head and face deformities
• FAE-fetal alcohol effects are less severe

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Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

• Alcohol abuse and alcoholism result in
• Serious psychological, social, and physical
  disorders in family unit
• Children of Alcoholics (COAs)- who are at high
  risk for developing alcohol and other drug
  problems
• Co-dependence-the unusual coping mechanisms,
  attitudes, and behavior that family members
  develop in response to a problems drinking
  parent, spouse, child, or sibling

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Alcoholism Characteristics

• Alcoholism is a complex illness or disability
  involving the recurring use of alcoholic
  beverages that contribute to various problems.
• Characterized by
• Alcohol dependence
• Tolerance
• Withdrawal
• Loss of control and craving

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Types of Alcoholism

• E.M. Jellinek
• Alpha- psychological reliance on alcohol to
  relieve physical and psychic pain. No loss of
  control or inability to abstain.
• Beta- severe medical complications occur, such as
  nerve irritations, gastric disturbances,
  cirrhosis of the liver. No physical nor
  psychological dependence or withdrawal symptoms

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Types of Alcoholism

• Gamma- most prevalent form of alcoholism seen in
  America. Psychological dependence, physical
  dependence, tolerance, loss of control, and
  withdrawal symptoms.
• Delta- most prevalent in France. Similar to
  gamma except that instead of loss of control,
  there is inability to abstain.

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Definitions of Alcoholism

• E.M. Jellinek
• Any use of beverage alcohol that causes any
  damage to the individual drinker, to society, or
  both.
• Revised definition-Gives greater consideration to
  basic behavioral changes symptomatic of the
  disease. There has also been emphasis on
  biological tolerance and physical dependence

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Causes of Alcoholism

• The agent- alcohol itself
• The host- the person
• The environment- psychosocial and cultural setting

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Phases of Alcoholism

• Phase 1- pre-alcoholic phase
• Drinks for social reasons but soon needs
  increased consumption and finds new crowd to
  drink with.
• Phase 2- prodromal/early warning
• Hides alcohol use, feels guilty, experiences
  blackouts.
• Phase 3-crucial phase
• - Drinking alone, avoids family and friends,
  liver damage.

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Phases of Alcohol cont.

• Phase 4-chronic phase
• - Progression to this stage develops after a
  number of years of excessive intake. Drinking
  lasts for several days at a time and the user
  experiences shakes and other long-term effects.

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Treatment

• Detoxification
• Drug therapy
• Psychotherapy
• Family therapy
• Behavioral therapy
• Transactional analysis
• Self help groups

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Alcohol Reduction and Prevention

• What can help children not become addicted to
  alcohol if their parents are?
• What are some programs that could be instituted?
• What signs and symptoms would you watch for as a
  family member?