Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Sociology Research Paper
Sociology Research Paper
SUBJECT: SOCIOLOGY
TOPIC: ALCOHOLISM
SEMESTER: IIND
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT
CONSEQUENCES OF ALCOHOLISM
TRAETMENT OF ALCOHOLISM
Page |3
ALCOHOLISM
ABSTRACT
An alcoholic beverage is one of the most significant goods in the worldwide addiction
market. Alcohol consumption is a major problem in developing countries like India because
of different socio-cultural practises across the country, different alcohol policies and practises
across the various states, lack of community awareness of alcohol-related problems, false
mass media propaganda about alcohol use, various alcohol drinking patterns among the
alcohol consumers, and the emergence of social drinking as a habit due to widespread
urbanisation. Alcohol users must be taught about the different adverse consequences of
alcohol usage and the impacts it may have on their mind, body, and soul in order to limit
alcohol intake. Every year, 3.3 million people die from alcohol-related causes, accounting for
6% of all fatalities globally. Alcohol abuse has far-reaching implications, ranging from
personal health hazards, morbidity, and death to ramifications for family, friends, and society
as a whole. This article examines a few of the cultural and social factors that impact alcohol
use and situates individual alcohol consumption within the settings and situations in which
individuals live and interact. It covers macro level issues including advertising and
marketing, immigration and prejudice, and how neighbourhoods, families, and friends impact
alcohol consumption.1
Keywords: Alcoholic, dependence, hazardous drinking, liver cirrhosis, alcohol consumption,
alcohol misuse, morbidity, mortality, risk factors, alcohol-related consequences, social
factors, cultural factors, environmental factors.
CONSEQUENCES OF ALCOHOLISM
In Indian society, the word "alcohol" has become commonplace. Alcohol has infiltrated the
lives of Indians in a massive and unrestrained way as a result of globalisation, urbanisation,
industrialisation, media influence, and changing lifestyles. Alcoholism has nearly devastating
repercussions in terms of personal unhappiness, family budget, family strife, wage loss,
health failure, and expense of custodial treatment in jail, monetary damages in courts, and
enticement to crime. The use and misuse of alcohol leads to societal deviances and issues.
Though the frequency of arrests for public intoxication in our nation is not high, it is well
recognised that arrest is not a good solution to the problem.2 A significant proportion of those
arrested for crimes including rape, burglary, murder, and theft did it while under the influence
1
https://www.alcohol.org/effects/
2
https://idoc.pub/queue/society-in-india-ram-ahuja-d49orz8e6249
Page |4
4
https://www.greenfacts.org/en/alcohol/l-2/05-social-economic-problems.htm
Page |5
5
Page |6
Recently it has been observed that curbs on liquor leads to more deaths. According to
government statistics from 2009-2011, states with restricted consumption top hooch tragedies
tally compared to those with unrestrictive consumption. The data shows that Tamil Nadu has
recorded 1095 deaths, with Karnataka a distant second with 599 deaths, followed by Punjab
and West Bengal- both recording over 400 deaths- and Gujarat ranked fifth with 396 deaths
due to spurious liquor between 2009 and 2011. Conversely, states such as Goa, where
consumption of legitimate alcohol is promoted with low taxes, there have been no instances
of hooch tragedies during this period and the state has recorded zero deaths. (Times of India,
22 October 2013).6
TREATMENT OF ALCOHOLISM
Physiological, psychological, and social therapies for alcoholism are all available. Many
physiological therapies are used in conjunction with psychological treatments, but they are
occasionally used in their "pure" form without any explicit psychotherapy goal. 7
PHYSIOLOGICAL THERAPIES
Detoxification—the safe removal of the patient from alcohol, generally in a hospital setting—
is the most essential physiological medical therapy. This procedure avoids life-threatening
delirium tremens while simultaneously addressing untreated medical issues. Furthermore,
advanced hospital detoxification programmes provide patients and their families hope for
recovery and begin the alcoholic's relapse prevention education. Relapse prevention is
crucial, just as it is for quitting smoking. Disulfiram is a common contemporary medication
therapy for alcoholism that was developed in 1948 by Erik Jacobsen of Denmark
(tetraethylthiuram disulfide, known by the trade name Antabuse). Alcohol is normally
metabolised to acetaldehyde, which is then quickly transformed to innocuous metabolites.
The metabolism of acetaldehyde is prevented in the presence of disulfiram, which is itself
safe.8 The accumulation of highly poisonous acetaldehyde causes symptoms such as flushing,
nausea, vomiting, and a dramatic decrease in blood pressure, heart pounding, and even a
sensation of imminent death. The standard procedure is to give the patient a half-gram of
disulfiram in tablet form every day for a few days, followed by a tiny test sip of an alcoholic
beverage under carefully controlled settings and under medical supervision. The patient then
exhibits symptoms that clearly demonstrate the dangers of drinking while on disulfiram
treatment. The patient is prescribed a lower daily dose of disulfiram, and the fear of the
Author Ram Ahuja
Year published: n.d.
Book title: Social problems in India
6
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4872611/
7
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/3909-alcoholism
8
https://www.alcohol.org/guides/treatments-of-alcohol/
Page |7
consequences of drinking functions as a "chemical fence" to keep him or her from drinking as
long as the prescription is taken. Apomorphine, niacin, LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide),
antihistaminic medicines, and a variety of tranquillizing and energising substances are among
the less scientific physical and chemical treatments that have been explored in the treatment
of alcoholics. Antidepressants and mood stabilisers (such as lithium) have lately been
attempted. However, none of these therapies, including disulfiram, has been found to be more
effective than a placebo in avoiding recurrence to alcohol consumption in long-term
investigations. Naltrexone (an opiate antagonist) and acamprosate, or calcium
acetylhomotaurinate (a modulator of gamma-aminobutyric acid [GABA] and N-methyl-D-
aspartate [NMDA] receptors), have recently been shown to be as effective as disulfiram in
preventing relapse for up to a year. However, no evidence exists that any of these drugs
lessens the chance of relapse in the long run.9
PSYCOLOGICAL THERAPIES10
To treat the psychoneuroses and character disorders linked with alcoholism, psychotherapy
involves a variety of modalities, including individual and group procedures. The goal might
range from removing underlying alleged psychological reasons to inducing just enough
change in the patient's emotional and volitional state so that he or she can completely refrain
from drinking or simply drink in moderation. Psychoanalysis is rarely used to treat
alcoholism since it has had limited success. Analytical and cognitive-behavioural treatments
are becoming increasingly popular, and they are frequently used in combination with
supporting goals. Unfortunately, most psychotherapies' benefits on alcoholism are only
noteworthy in the short term, much as medication.11
A promising psychological approach known as "motivational interviewing" was created
expressly for alcoholism in the 1990s, and it involves finding a patient's motivation for
change. To build a desire and hope for change, the patient must first understand his or her
lack of control over alcohol and the severity of the issue. Only then will the patient be more
inclined to participate actively in the transformation process. When it comes to alcoholics,
group therapy is typically seen to be more successful than individual therapy. Instructional
lectures and superficial talks to profound analytic analyses, psychodrama, hypnosis,
psychodynamic confrontation, and marathon sessions are all examples of group therapy.
Mechanical assistance include instructive motion images, films of drunken patients, and
records of earlier sessions. Many institutional programmes employ a "total-push" strategy, in
which the patient is blasted with many treatment options in the hopes that one or more of
them may work. Other institutional regimens simply remove the patient from a stressful
outside environment and compel abstinence for a period of time. Psychoanalysts,
9
https://www.britannica.com/science/alcoholism/Social-treatment
10
11
https://www.britannica.com/science/alcoholism/Social-treatment
Page |8
SOCIAL TREATMENT
Addicts in long-term naturalistic research have discovered four forms of nonmedical
community interventions that help with self-care and relapse prevention. The first is
inescapable external community monitoring, such as an employee assistance programme
linked to the alcoholic's workplace and requiring the alcoholic to join in order to keep his or
her job. The second category includes behaviourally competing replacements for the
addiction, such as obsessive hobbies, weight gain, or increased smoking. The third is the
"protective wall of human community," which may be found in therapeutic and religious
communities as well as new love connections, according to Carl Jung. Such interactions, of
12
N11
13
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/3909-alcoholism
14
the same "authorised" literature (including translations) provided by the organization's central
headquarters in New York City. Felons and physicians, young and elderly, minorities and
atheists, Catholics, Buddhists, and Hindus, as well as Protestants, are all members of AA.
Each AA group is autonomous, thus there are usually some differences in style and conduct.
AA organisations in certain countries are sponsored by or linked with national temperance
societies, or accept financial help from government health agencies, however AA's central
office discourages this.16
RESULT OF TREATMENT
Treatment success for any behavioural or personality issue is difficult to assess, and
alcoholism is no exception. Some doctors feel that one or more of the therapies listed in this
section is superior for certain patients, although this has yet to be shown in a scientific study.
The most effective therapy may be the one in which the therapist or the patient has the most
faith. This subjective component might explain why controlled tests comparing different
therapies yielded lower outcomes than uncontrolled reports of alcohol therapy. The benefits
of novel treatments are frequently touted with zeal; nevertheless, a thorough assessment of
the data and controlled research typically disprove the promises. Follow-up studies of treated
alcoholics have frequently been too short to ascertain whether or not long-term improvements
were obtained, or the investigators have been unable to identify a significant number of
former patients. Furthermore, the definitions of "success" are contradictory. Some researchers
consider absolute abstinence to be a good outcome; others consider it successful if the
frequency of drinking sessions is decreased, or if the patient's self-destructive behaviour or
harm to others is minimised.17
CONCLUSION
This review of sociologically relevant alcohol research addresses definitions of alcohol
problems, describes patterns and trends in adult drinking practices and problems and
correlates of alcoholism, and describes social policy responses to alcohol. With implications
for many measures of social wellbeing, alcohol research is relevant to almost all areas of
traditional sociological interest, intersecting with religious and ethnic studies, with studies of
social change and social movements, with theories of social control, with criminology and
social deviance, with media research and analysis of social organizations, with study of age
and gender roles, with medical sociology, and with sociology of the work place.
Sociologically relevant alcohol research of the last few years, while rich in the above areas, is
by no means exhausted and holds great potential to illuminate issues of general interest to
sociologists as well as to specialists in medical sociology or deviance.18
16
https://www.britannica.com/science/alcoholism/Social-treatment
17
https://www.britannica.com/science/alcoholism/Social-treatment
18
https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.so.15.080189.001115
P a g e | 11