Expert: Crystal - 12/26/2007

Question
Dear Crystal,
    I am a student in high school and I am currently taking a course in Religious Studies. As part of our main exam next year, we have to do a course work on alcohol. Therefore I would like to ask your professional opinion on the following questions to help my coursework along.

In your opinion, why do people use alcohol (can you give me at least three reasons please)?

Why do you think so many youths feel that they need to drink alcohol in order to have a good time at social gatherings?

Who is an alcoholic, or rather, can you define the traits or characteristics that would suggest someone is alcoholic? Can you give me some examples?

What ill effects can the abuse of alcohol have on the family and society?

Thank you for taking the time to read my request and I would really appreciate it if you would send an answer to my questions as soon as possible. Once again, thank you so much and I assure you that your answers will not, in any way, be plagiarized or taken out of context.

Answer
There are several reasons why people use alcohol, certain people are prone to using because they have a family history of alcoholism in their family somewhere, some use because of peer pressure and then continue to use because they don't like where their lives are going after they use, some use because a history of sexual abuse or rape but if you think about it a lot of them use to block out what they don't want to remember or face.
It costs the society millions due to the treatment needs of those who are in need of detox and housing afterwards, as well as what it costs the society as a whole because of the actions of an alcoholic. We face higher insurance rates, high death due to Drinking and driving,placement costs for children of alcoholics who have to be placed in foster care and several rebound costs because of the mental health needs of all.
You will find that adolescents use because they believe it is the in thing to do for one, they feel the need to be accepted and I hear from a lot of them that they use because they are bored. It helps them to relax and cut loose, plus they say it allows them to do things they wouldn't normally do.
An alcoholic is someone who drinks everyday and uses alcohol in the mornings as well as at night,someone who receives negative consequences in their life due to their drinking and those who drink to just get a high everyday as well. There is a test that is conducted to see if you are at high risk or if you are an alcoholic. It is called the SASSI, you should see if you can find it on the Internet because you can see questions that are asked of the client's doing the assessment.
I hope this helps. If you need me to be more specific please let me know.