Abstract
In the following work the social aspect of the problem of alcoholism is discussed. The fact of its great importance and influence on society is stated. The study of some academical sources connected with this issue is given. Their main ideas serve to prove the fact of the pernicious influence of this addiction. The risk groups are also outlined. The data and methods of the researches are studied. The results of the discussion coincide with the given statement and in conclusion the necessity of the further investigation of this issue is given.
Main Body
Great tension of modern world, its great speed and rivalry often have bad influence on people. Living under constant pressure they begin to feel overwhelming tiredness which is very uneasy to overcome. Some people try to struggle with it. However, there is the category of people which give up and try to hide from the world and problems using all remedies which are at their disposal. Alcohol is one of them. Giving a slight feeling of relief it however does not help and just make people addictive to it. It became the great social problem as our society consists of personalities and when someone is addictive he cannot be the representative of it. Moreover it threatens the further development of society as “alcohol use is associated with the leading causes of death among youth” (Herciu, Laxer, Cole, & Leatherdale, 2014, p. 172). Sociology as the since of social behavior and its development cannot ignore this problem. Sociological imagination, the term which means the ability to see things socially and their interaction, suggests the understanding of alcoholism as the great social problem. Society loses its future and alcoholism becomes the great sociological problem of modern age which is narrowly studied, however a possible way out has not been found.
There is a great number of works devoted to this issue. They try to study it from different points if view using different methods and collecting data. For example in the article A Cross-sectional Study Examining Factors Associated with Youth Binge Drinking in the COMPASS Study: Year 1 Data the authors suggest deep research of the problem of alcoholism among the youth basing on “data from 17,497 grade 9 to 12 students participating in the COMPASS Study (Year 1)” (Herciu, Laxer, Cole, & Leatherdale, 2014, p. 173). The authors show statistics of using alcohol by students. The conclusion of the work is not satisfying. The authors admit the great disposition of the youth to alcoholism.
Another work Addiction and Autism: A Remarkable Comorbidity? reveals the idea of interdependence of being alcohol addict and some distortions in the work of brain and how environment can influence the development of these factors. The authors use the study of the state of 118 patients in order to prove their point. In conclusion the article says that “Autism spectrum disorders and addiction can both be perceived as developmental disorders” (Wijngaarden-Cremers, Brink, & Gaag, 2014, p. 170) and that there are some men that have aptitude to alcohol addiction and this category of people should be especially careful.
One more article Risky Drinking Women: Contrasting Therapeutic Approaches researches the same problem. However it touches another important side of this addiction. It describes the problem of women alcoholism and some possible ways of its treatment. The article states that “The importance of early identification and effective treatment for risky drinking grows with the increasing rate of alcohol use by women” (Birath, Klinteberg, DeMarinis, Hauke, Smallwood, & Chang, 2014, p.160). The problem obtains more and more actuality and women become the risk group. It is also mentioned that this addiction is very difficult to cure especially talking about female addiction. Having analyzed two different possible therapies the authors state that they result in significant reducing of drinking however women which had taken these therapies remained in the risk group.
The article The Alcoholic Habitus: A Socio-Anthropological Eye on Alcoholism discusses the phenomena of alcoholism among military personnel and it is concentrated on “its socio-anthropological perspective, considering it as phenomenon, which is individually and collectively managed” (Halpern & Leite,. 2014, p. 190). We have already said that alcoholism became social problem as it influences all important aspects of society and this article illustrates it. The authors give conclusion that availability of alcohol on military bases influences greatly on the development of alcoholic habitus. They also underline that some protective measures can prevent great destructions of material base and the personalities of military personnel.
One more article which centers around this issue is Men’s Heavy Alcohol Use and Risk of HIV Acquisition and Transmission to Sexual Partners within Marriage in India. It discusses the problem of sexual behavior in the state of alcohol intoxication. It states that “heavy episodic drinking by men in India and elsewhere is associated with their sexual risk behaviors, thereby increasing the risk for HIV” (Saggurti, Sabarwal & Mahapatra, 2014, p. 147) that is why it becomes very destructive and dangerous addiction. The authors suggest the idea of interdependence of sexual violence and alcoholism. The decrease of usage of drinks will lead to the reducing of HIV transmission.
The Data and Methods of the following researches perfectly illustrate the actuality of the problem of alcoholism. According to the statistics which was obtained due to sociological quiz among the purposeful auditory 38.4% of students drink alcohol (Herciu et al., 2014). This is rather disturbing. There is also a great number of HIV positive people among alcohol addicted. Especially dangerous is the data about female alcoholism and the methods of its treatment as it is very destructive for society. This problem touches all fields of it which makes it even more important.
The problem of alcoholism can be considered form the point of view of social conflict as it is connected with relations of personalities. Functionalism cannot be applied here as the problem is connected with the relations between people and not between the parts of society. It is not also connected with the symbolic meaning of peoples social interaction which is described by symbolic ineractionism. The problem occurs when the person faces some problems connected with the interaction with another person or group of persons. That is why it is better to analyze it in the terms of social conflict theory.
Society loses it future and alcoholism has become the great sociological problem of modern age which is narrowly studied however no possible way out has been found. Having analyzed the sources connected with this issue it is possible to make the conclusion that this statement reflects the current state of the question. Though the great number of remedies are concentrated in order to end with this problem it still threatens society striking its such vital parts as youth, women, military personnel and promoting development of different diseases.
Reference List
Birath, S., Klinteberg, B., DeMarinis, V., Hauke, S., Smallwood, A., Grace Chang. (2014). Risky drinking women: contrasting therapeutic approaches. Alcohol Drug Depend, 2(3),160 – 167. Web.
Halpern, E. & Leite, L. (2014). The alcoholic habitus: a socio-anthropological eye on alcoholism. Addict Res Ther, 5(3),190 – 197. Web.
Herciu, C., Laxer, E., Cole, A,, Leatherdale, T. (2014). A Cross-sectional study examining factors associated with youth binge drinking in the COMPASS study: Year 1 Data. Alcohol Drug Depend, 2(4),172 – 176. Web.
Saggurti, N., Sabarwal, S., & Mahapatra, B. (2014). Men’s heavy alcohol use and risk of HIV acquisition and transmission to sexual partners within marriage in India. Alcohol Drug Depend, 2(2),147 – 151. Web.
Wijngaarden-Cremers, P., Brink, W., Gaag, R. (2014). Addiction and autism: a remarkable comorbidity?. J Alcohol Drug Depend, 2(4),170 – 175. Web.