preview

The Effects Of Alcoholism On Children With Alcoholic Parents

Better Essays

The Impact of Alcoholism on Children with Alcoholic Parents

Problems have been plaguing people who drink for centuries. Despite a tremendous amount of researcher with alcoholism into the cause of alcoholism and effective treatments, no one has been able to stop it yet. Alcoholism or alcohol dependence is defined by the American Medical Association (AMA) as "a primary, chronic disease with genetic, psychosocial, and environmental factors influencing its development and manifestations” (Medical-Dictionary). Like any disease, alcoholism effects people’s heath and their behavior. People who continue to drink usually become physically sick, suffer in their relationships with family and friends, and may eventually die from the disease. Currently, the National Organization of Children of Alcoholics estimates that there are “twenty-six million, eight hundred thousand alcoholics living in the United States. Of these, eleven million are under the age of eighteen”. “Almost 1 out of 5 children live with an alcoholic while growing up” (NACOA). These statistics are frightening for several reasons; the impact of alcoholism on the lives of children is significant, the cost of dealing with the problem of alcoholism is astronomical, and the effects of alcoholism on our whole society are too pervasive to document. Alcoholism needs to be treated though treatment is not always effective. In order to recover from the disease, the alcoholic must want to stop drinking. Unfortunately, many

Get Access