What Does Alcohol Cause Besides Alcoholism?
Alcohol causes far more than alcoholism.
Rita Malie is an adult child of an alcoholic and shares her experiences in her latest novel, Supreme Sacrifice: A Woman’s Journey From The Bondage of Guilt to the Freedom of Forgiveness. She helps us to understand that alcohol causes far more than alcoholism.
The following is a guest post by Rita Malie, award-winning author of Goodbye America, an historic memoir of her mother. Rita’s most recent novel is titled: Supreme Sacrifice: A Woman’s Journey From The Bondage of Guilt to the Freedom of Forgiveness. It is inspired by true events and the legacy of growing up in an alcoholic home. Her passion is to help others overcome and prevent the ghosts of the past from influencing the present and future, and she can be reached at rmalie@lslink.com.
What Does Alcohol Cause Besides Alcoholism? By Rita Malie
Alcohol causes more than alcoholism. If each alcoholic affects the lives of four or five others “spouse, children, employer, employee innocent victim of accident, or other” then our 12.1 million alcoholics have an impact on 40 to 50 million others for a total of about 60 million citizens.
The president of a state association of judges stated that “90 to 95 percent of all the cases that come before my bench ” civil, criminal and family ” involve alcohol.” Alcohol may not be the sole cause, but is a part-cause in much juvenile delinquency, illegitimate pregnancy, truancy, and fights. Numerous reports indicate that about 73 percent of felonies are alcohol-related. A survey of the literature shows that in about 67 percent of child-beating cases, 41 percent of forcible rape cases, 80 percent of wife-battering, 72 percent of stabbings, and 83 percent of homicides, either the attacker or the victim or both had been drinking. Hard to research, incest is now coming out in the open; one report estimates as high as 90 percent of incest may be alcohol-related.
Alcohol accentuates depression, and reports indicate a range of 30 to 80 percent of suicides as alcohol-related (Murphy, 1992). As high as 45 percent of our social welfare aid in categories like Aid to Dependent Children, and 60 percent of “mental cruelty” divorce cases, have been estimated as associated with alcohol and other drugs, which is the primary complaint in one-third of all broken marriages (see Parker and Rebhun, 1995; Pernanen, 1991).
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Hi Rita and Lisa,
There are so many side affects of alcoholism and/or alcohol abuse, not only to family members and friends, but society at large. We all pay the price for this devastating disease.
Those are pretty amazing stats about the reach of alcohol on families, and society in general. Alcohol may not cause any problems for people that can handle it, and many can. But for those that abuse alcohol or have problems handling it, it spreads to so many others, as these numbers show. It ruins the quality of life for the alcoholics and their families that can leave lasting impressions for a lifetime. The impact is especially sad for the children.
Aren’t they, though, and you’re right – many, many people who drink do it without causing secondhand drinking impacts for others. But as you also wrote, when it does – the impacts can last a lifetime if the person does not understand them and what they can do to help themselves. I’ll be loading a free pdf on the website April 12, titled: “Talking to a Child About Secondhand Drinking – the Impacts on a Child When a Family Member Drinks Too Much.” It is part of my Alcohol Awareness Month 2013 series. It’s designed to help adults help children living with family alcohol abuse or alcoholism – so you may be interested in checking it out. Thanks for your comment, Jeff!
Wow! Pretty amazing stats… I could’ve been part of these statistics 2 years ago when I was arrested. I don’t want to think what would’ve happened if I had hit someone. It’s been 2 years now without a drink.
Philip
Thanks for you comment, Philip, and congratulations on your two years sobriety!