Review of Related Literature Alcoholism is also known as alcohol dependence and is considered a disease with symptoms such as craving or feeling a strong urge to drink; loss of control or not being able to stop once drinking has begun; physical dependence such as nausea, sweating, shakiness, and anxiety; and tolerance or drinking greater amounts of alcohol to "get high" ('National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism' 2006). Many people believe that drinking alcohol will and may ease their problems regarding their family, work and the society, but in fact, it would not. Acquiring alcoholism may lead to more serious complications and fatal illnesses that would cause the person's life. Several think that alcoholism is a disease, and in fact, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (2006) is supporting this statement. The Institute explains that the craving that an alcoholic feels for alcohol can be as strong as the need for food or water, and an alcoholic will continue to drink despite serious family, health, or legal problems. Moreover, like many other diseases, alcoholism is chronic, which means that it lasts a person's lifetime, usually follows a predictable course, and has symptoms ('National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism 2006). The risk for developing alcoholism is influenced by both the person's genes and by his or her lifestyle ('National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism' 2006). It has been reported that alcoholism was first recognized as a disease in the 1930s by a group called "Alcoholics Anonymous", and since then, the American Medical Association has recognized alcoholism as a serious and chronic disease ('What is Chemical Dependency?' 2005). Alcoholism takes time to develop, but once it develops, it does not go away ('What is Chemical Dependency?' 2005). Cure is not available for
alcoholism, but is treatable, and with proper treatment, an alcoholic will be able to reclaim his or her normal, satisfying lifestyle ('What is Chemical Dependency?' 2005). It has been reported that the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that there are about 2 billion people worldwide who consume alcoholic beverages and 76.3 million with diagnosable alcohol use disorders ('Global Status Report on Alcohol' 2004, p. 7). From a public health perspective, the global burden related to alcoholism and alcohol consumption, both in terms of morbidity and mortality, is considerable in most parts of the world ('Global Status Report on Alcohol' 2004, p. 7). Moreover, given alcohol's significance in world health, the World Health Organization has been developing a database since 1996, named the Global Alcohol Database, in its aim in providing a standardized reference source of information for global epidemiological surveillance of alcohol use and its related problems ('Global Status Report on Alcohol' 2004, p. 7). This database will be helpful for the organization to record the incidence of alcoholism worldwide. This is essential so the government can take action and responsibility in proposing or implementing programs to help lessen the incidence of alcoholism. Similarly, in the United States, alcohol is still the number one drug problem, and affects adolescents, middle-aged people and senior citizens, and people of all races, religions, intelligence levels and professions ('What is Chemical Dependency?' 2005). In fact, there are approximately 18 million alcoholics in America ('What is Chemical Dependency?' 2005), and this high incidence affects many aspects in the society. In 1995, the estimated annual cost of alcohol abuse in the United States was $166.5 billion, where alcohol use disorders cost $56.7 billion more than the estimated annual
economic cost of illegal drug use and $36.5 billion more than the estimated annual economic cost of smoking ('Impact on Society' 2006). Research Methodology A total of 30 participants aged 13 to 20 years will be randomly selected from the population and will be invited to participate. This age bracket will be considered because at these ages, adolescents become exposed for the first time to alcoholic drinks or beverages. The socioeconomic status of the participants will also be considered, as with their classification, whether they belong to a rural or an urban city. Aside from these, the education of the participants will also be considered. Education is also a good basis for the knowledge of the participants regarding alcoholism. Data will be collected in the participants' residential area, and during the visits, the participants will be asked to answer a questionnaire to obtain information on demographic characteristics, including age, sex, education, and occupation. Obtaining data through questionnaire will be easier for evaluation of the participants' exposure and interest in alcoholic drinks. The questionnaire that will be distributed to the participants will have 20 questions, and will be answered by each of the participants with the supervision of the researcher. In addition, a simple interview will be also be administered by the researcher to somehow interact with the participants. From these questionnaires, a data will be generated and will serve as a survey on the exposure of the participants to alcoholic drinks or beverages. These data will be helpful in assessing their interest and opinion regarding treatment, if ever they will be diagnosed to suffer from alcoholism. The questionnaires will not only include questions regarding the participants' exposure to alcohol, but will contain questions talking about
the common symptoms being experienced by alcoholics. These will be helpful for evaluation and examination of the participants. If ever the results will indicate a positive diagnosis for alcoholism as indicated by the symptoms listed in the questionnaire, then the researcher can refer the participants to a hospitals or rehabilitation centers for treatment. To check the reliability and the significance of the study, statistical analysis will be also be used. Statistical tools will be helpful to assess the significance and the relationship of demographic factors and the data gathered from the participants. All the calculations will be weighted to evaluate and assess the interest of the participants for possible treatment. In this light, the researcher can assess if the treatments proposed to alcoholics are effective to motivate them to participate and undergo treatment.
Summary The possible results of the study would somehow become helpful in the fulfillment of its aim to detect the earliest possible age of adolescents to become exposed to alcoholic drinks. This study can also assess the relationship of having a family history of alcoholism and its effect to adolescent alcoholism. Potential implication of the study would include the evaluation of the researcher of the conditions existing among the adolescents in the United States. This study would also provide information and knowledge on adolescent alcoholism, which can be attributed to the adolescents' exposure or none exposure to alcoholic drinks or beverages. Another implication of the study also includes the development of more effective ways of treatment for alcoholics. These also include the improvement of the
existing treatments, and the conceptualization of new ones to motivate the adolescents for treatment of alcoholism at an early age. This study also has several limitations. One of its limitations is that it covers only a small number of participants, and due to limited budget, cannot cover the entire United States for obtaining data. Another limitation, is that the survey does not represent the total population of the adolescents with the age of 13 to 20 years, due to the limited number of participants to be included. Another limitation is that this study would not obtain blood samples from the participants to examine their blood alcohol content. This can be helpful to assess the condition of the participants.
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