Can anybody explain to me HOW ALCOHOLISM CAN BE HEREDITARY?

Question

i don't undestand this theory.

Answer 1

It is not well understood.

All individuals with a family history of alcoholism are at risk for developing alcohol abuse disorders, but males who also have behavioral disinhibition are at the greatest risk, according to research at the Behavioral Sciences Laboratories.

Parental alcoholism is a risk factor for children to become alcoholics themselves, but that risk increases significantly if the children, especially boys, have novelty-seeking personalities, with risk-taking, thrill-seeking and impulsive characteristics.

Researchers have identified new genes that may contribute to excessive alcohol consumption, which provide clues to the underlying molecular mechanisms and allow scientists to focus on targets not previously implicated in excessive drinking.

Many other aspects of the genetic link are discussed at these sites. I hope this information is helpful.

Answer 2

The idea is that people can have a predisposition to alcoholism. You can't really say that they are genetically an "alcoholic" if they never drink, but what would be normal, even light, drinking for someone else can lead to alcoholism for someone with a genetic predisposition to it.

EDIT: I thought of a better way to put it. You're clear on things like heroin and crack being addictive, right? Well, what if they were only addictive for SOME people? What if most people could use crack when they felt like it, but other days could just say, "Nah, I'm not in the mood for crack today." You'd think there must be some biological difference between the people who get easily addicted to crack and the people who don't right? And if there were a biological difference, scientists would want to know if it were genetic, or if it developed some other way. In the case of alcoholism, research is suggesting that there are genetic factors involved. It's by no means fully understood yet, though.

Answer 3

It is a nature-nurture issue.

Alcoholism can be a disease of sorts.
-There is a chemical imbalance in the brain. Some people cannot deal with stress, disappointment, etc. They discover alchohol which helps them to forget about their problems for a while. This leads to a dependance on alcholhol as a means to help them cope. It's similar to that of drug addicts.

Alcoholism can also be learned
- A child has an alchoholic parent. that child sees that their parent deals with stress by drinking. they then learn to deal with their own stress in the same way. Or they have the same chemical imbalance as the parent (if that is the parents problem) which leads to their alcoholism.

I know that this is not right on the money. I am only a psychology student right now and don't know everything. But if my memory serves me correctly the above are some reasonings for alcoholism and its "hereditary" trait.

Answer 4

Genetics, but scientists don't fully understand this yet. It is the tendency to become addicted to alcohol that is hereditary, not the alcoholism itself.

Alcoholism tends to run in families, and genetic factors partially
explain this pattern. Researchers are looking for the genes that
influence vulnerability to alcoholism. They are also exploring the
relationship between genetics and environment.

Genetic risk to alcoholism, however, is not destiny. A child of an
alcoholic parent will not automatically develop alcoholism, and a person
with no family history of alcoholism can become alcohol dependent.

Answer 5

Not necessarily alcoholism but predisposition to alcoholism. The theory is that the likelyhood of becoming an alcoholic is hereditary. It may have something to do with the part of the brain that controls self-control, since many alcoholics seem to have issues controlling more than just their drinking.

Answer 6

Well as the daughter of a drinker...
I can say its not hereditary.. my father was a heavy drinker from as far as I can remember until I was like 9 he quit.... he was a respectable drinker he could go to his office everyday and no one would know that hed been pissy drunk the day before.. so when I got older and I knew that I didnt want to get winded up in that stuff so I didnt drink...
I learned at an early age you cant drink your sorrows away because sorrow can swim..
Good Luck
But no I dont think its hereditary...

Answer 7

It's not! These so called researchers are always trying to explain away mankinds "social ills", by blaming it on a mysterious "gene," which they have yet to discover! This way they can say that the person couldn't help themselves. It was their parents fault, etc. It is a lot easier to blame others for our own bad choices in life! I grew up in a family of heavy social drinkers(alcoholics), and smokers. I made a choice that it wasn't going to be part of my lifestyle. My two sisters also made that same choice not to do it either. I did the same thing about cigarette smoking, and, staying attracted to the "opposite sex", which are other avenues that they are trying to find a "mysterious gene", instead of coming to the realization that people make their own choices as to how they want to live their lives.
I do believe many of us are influenced by the social behaviors we are bombarded with daily, to the point that some just give in and become part of the crowd instead of the exception, so that we can be accepted, or that life will somehow be easier.
Many people have more faith in secular answers through flawed science, than they do in God, which is why they will continue to go around in circles, and put "bandaids" on social ills, and label them diseases.

Answer 8

The alcoholism persay isnt hereditary...but the ability to easily addicted to substances like that is. The need to be "tranquilized" is. It's the lack of ability to deal with life.

Answer 9

It being genentic refers to passing on to offspring. In this case, the enzyme responsible for the metabolism of alcohol in the body is low or non-existant. Normally the enzyme metabolizes alcohol to an aldehyde, and it readily passes from the body. With little or no enzyme, alcohol stays in the body longer because it not readily metabolized.

Answer 10

Its not. Its just an excuse that winos use to explain their behavior. Like a scapegoat "Oh I can't help it, its hederitary so I obviously cannot change the way I am".

There is absolutely no way that a "alcoholism" gene be implanted in our DNA. Its ridiculous.