Study Related to alcoholics

1. A Study on Quality of Life of Adolescent Children of Alcoholics
G.Anbuselvi, B.Shankar Anandh
Dr.R.Anbuselvi, Research guide,
PG & Research Dept of Social Work,
Sree Saraswathi Thyagaraja College, Pollachi-642107.
mail2anbug@gmail.com
Mr.B.Shankar Anandh
Research Scholar,
PG & Research Dept of Social Work,
Sree Saraswathi Thyagaraja College, Pollachi-642107.
sanandh20@gmail.com
Abstract: In India, Tamil Nadu stands first
in consumption of alcohol of 8.3 liters
against the national average of 5.7 liters. A
survey conducted jointly by WHO and
AIDC (Alcohol and Drug Information
Centre, India) states that the consumption of
alcohol rising from 6% to 31% in the state.
In India, the different drug abuse surveys
have shown the prevalence of alcoholism as
5% to 20%. 27% of the revenue generated
by Tamil Nadu in 2012-13 came from the
sale of alcohol. It includes an excise revenue
of Rs.12,125.31 crore and sales tax of Rs.
9,555.36 crore. The statistics presents a
dismal picture and sad state of affairs in the
countries one of high literacy level state.
The problem of alcoholism and its attended
problems for the family relatives of the
alcoholics or quite acute and rather quite
problematic and affects in quality of life of
children’s and family members of
alcoholics.
Key words: Alcoholism, Adolescent, Quality
of life.
Introduction
Alcoholism also known as alcohol
dependence is a disabling addictive disorder.
It is characterized by compulsive and
uncontrolled consumption of alcohol despite
its negative effects on the drinker’s health,
relationships and social standing. Like the
other drug addictions, alcoholism is
medically defined as treatable disease. The
term “alcoholism” is widely used term first
coined in 1849 by Magnus Huss. In 1979 an
expert World Health Organization
committee disfavored the use of
“alcoholism” as a diagnostic entity,
preferring the category of “alcohol
dependence syndrome”.
Alcoholism is the cyclic presence of
tolerance, withdrawal and excessive alcohol
use; the drinker’s inability to control such
compulsive drinking, despite awareness of
its harm to his or her health, indicates that
the person might be an alcoholic. The WHO
defines alcoholism as “a term of long-
standing use and variable meaning”, and use
of the term was disfavored by a 1979 WHO
Expert Committee.
Alcoholism is a growing problem with
society today and many people who suffer
from it do not even realize it. Alcoholism
also known as alcohol dependence is a
chronic, progressive disease that affects
millions of Indians. It can cause number of
medical problems, violence in person and
even death.
An alcoholic is defined as a person who has
problems from drinking but continues to
drink anyway. Problems of alcoholic misuse
hit the family like a tidal wave, leaving

2. those involved in a sea of anger, frustration,
fear and isolation.
Alcoholism – A Disease
Alcoholism is disease. The craving that an
alcoholic feels for alcohol can be as strong
as the need for food or water. An alcoholic
will continue to drink despite serious family,
health or legal problem. Like many other
disease, alcoholism is chronic, meaning that
lasts a person’s life time; it usually follows a
predictable course; and it has symptoms.
The risk for developing alcoholism is
influenced both by a person’s genes and by
his/her lifestyle.
Is Alcoholism Inherited? Research
shows that the risk for developing
alcoholism does indeed run in families. The
genes a person inherits partially explain this
pattern, but lifestyle is also a factor.
Currently, researchers are working to
discover the actual genes that put people at
risk for alcoholism.
Types of Alcoholism
 Alpha alcoholism- excessive
inappropriate drinking; no loss of
control; presence of ability to abstain.
 Beta alcoholism- excessive
inappropriate drinking; no clear physical
or psychological dependence; physical
complications (e.g. cirrhosis, neuritis,
gastritis etc.) present.
 Gamma alcoholism- physical
dependence; tolerance; loss of control;
progressive course.
 Delta alcoholism- inability to abstain
but quality can be controlled; tolerance;
withdrawal symptoms; common in wine
consuming countries.
 Epsilon alcoholism- intermittent or
spree drinking; convention drinking;
dipsomania or compulsive drinking.
Phases of Alcoholism
 The pre-alcoholic symptomatic phase:
The candidate for alcoholism starts out
drinking in conventional social situations
but soon experiences, a rewarding relief
from tension. Gradually, the tolerance
for tension decreases to such an extent
that he resorts to alcohol almost daily.
 The prodromal phase: This phase is
marked by the sudden onset of
blackouts, signs of intoxication and no
memory of events.
 The crucial phase: This stage is
characterized by the loss of control over
drinking, increased isolation and to
further centring of his behaviour around
alcohol, decrease in sexual drive.
 The chronic phase: Intoxicated during
the anytime on a weekday and marked
impairment in thinking process. Alcohol
psychoses, such as delirium tremens may
occur. Rationalizations begin to fail,
vague religious desires begin to develop
and become amenable to treatment.
Symptoms of Alcoholism
 Craving – a strong need or urge to
drink
 Loss of control – not being able to stop
drinking once drinking has begun.
 Physical dependence – Withdrawal
symptoms, such as nausea, sweating,
shakiness and anxiety after stopping
drinking.
 Tolerance – the need to drink greater
amounts of alcohol to get “high”.
Effects of Alcohol
 Physical Effects
Long-term alcohol abuse can cause a
number of physical symptoms,
including cirrhosis of the liver
pancreatitis, epilepsy, polyneuropathy,
alcoholic dementia, heart disease,
nutritional deficiencies, peptic

3. ulcers and sexual dysfunction, and can
eventually be fatal.
 Psychiatric Effects
Psychiatric disorders are common in
alcoholics, with as many as 25 percent
suffering severe psychiatric
disturbances. The most prevalent
psychiatric symptoms are anxiety and
depression disorders. Psychiatric
symptoms usually initially worsen
during alcohol withdrawal, but typically
improve or disappear with continued
abstinence. Psychosis, confusion,
and organic brain syndrome may be
caused by alcohol misuse, which can
lead to a misdiagnosis such
as schizophrenia. Panic disorder can
develop or worsen as a direct result of
long-term alcohol misuse.
Definition of Adolescents
The word adolescence is a Latin word
in its origin, derived from the verb
adolescere, which means “to grow into
adulthood”. It is a time of moving from
the immaturity of childhood into
maturity of adulthood. According to
Eric Erikson’s stages of human
development, adolescent is a person
between the ages of 13 and 19. There is
no single event or boundary line that
denotes the end of childhood and
beginning of adolescence.
Factors affecting Quality of Life
 Amodeo M; Griffin M; Paris R. 2011,
“Women's reports of negative, neutral,
and positive effects of growing up with
alcoholic parents”. Parental alcoholism
does not necessarily result in negative
outcomes for the offspring; we
examined whether it would result in
negative perceptions of the experience.
Black women and White women with
alcoholic parents (N = 126) rated and
described the effect of parental
alcoholism on them: 65% reported a
negative effect, 26% reported a positive
effect, and 7% reported a neutral effect.
We examined these ratings in relation
to the women's overall adult
adjustment. More positive ratings were
associated with being Black and with
variables such as social support,
experiencing lower family conflict, and
having no alcohol problem oneself.
Human service providers need greater
access to research findings to see that
children from these families will be
diverse in their psychological and social
functioning.
 Hall J. 2010, “Childhood perceptions of
family, social support, parental
alcoholism, and later alcohol use among
African American college students”.
This study investigated differences in
alcohol use, family of origin, and social
support between a sample of adult
children of alcoholics (ACOAs, 25
males and 25 females), and a sample of
adult children of non-alcoholics (non-
ACOAs, 25 males and 25 females).
Participants completed a battery of
tests: a demographic questionnaire, the
Children of Alcoholics Screening Test,
the Michigan Alcoholism Screening
Test, the Family of Origin Scale, and
the Dimension of Social Support Scale.
Analysis of variance revealed that the
two groups differed on alcohol
consumption and family of origin, with
ACOAs reporting significantly less
alcohol use, and non-ACOAs reporting
healthier families of origin. The
findings indicate that not all ACOAs
abuse alcohol or struggle with social or
behavioural problems.
 Gilbert RE. Ronald Reagan's
presidency: 2008, “The impact of an
alcoholic parent”. Ronald Reagan
enjoyed a successful political career.
Nevertheless, his political life was

4. affected dramatically by the fact that he
was the son of an alcoholic parent.
Alcoholic parents leave deep marks on
their children's lives, even after those
children become adults. As president of
the United States, Reagan clearly
demonstrated these marks. He was
aloof and distant, was often a
disengaged leader, showed inordinate
loyalty to associates even when such
loyalty became problematic, was prone
to live in a world of make-believe and
married compulsive women, and craved
approval and applause. Each of these
behavioural characteristics was part of
the psychological legacy left to this
president by his long-dead alcoholic
father. Some of them damaged his
presidency greatly; others, however,
may well have assisted it.
 Scharff et al (2004), “The interaction of
parental alcoholism, adaptation role, and
familial dysfunction”. Many people
believe that parental alcoholism has
adverse consequences on children --
some research fails to support this
hypothesis. Familial dysfunction is often
regarded as having a more important
impact on adults, perhaps because of a
failure to recognize that adult children of
alcoholics (ACOAs) may have adopted
more than one coping strategy. The
present study investigated within-group
differences in psychological
symptomology as measured by the
Millon Clinical Multi axial Inventory
(MCMI). ACOAs, were compared by
roles (Hero, Mascot, Lost Child, and
Scapegoat) to non-ACOAs as measured
by familial dysfunction and roles.
MANOVA indicated significant main
effects of dysfunction, role, ACOA, and
an interaction of role and ACOA.
Failures to recognize the impact of
parental alcoholism may be caused by
multiple adaptation strategies.
Research Methodology
Statement of the Problem
Alcoholism is a matter of serious
concern, not confined to any group.
Universally it creates professional,
financial, legal, medical, psychological
and familial problems. The cost of
alcoholism to the society is staggering by
any calculations. It creates many
problems. Alcoholism thus becomes a
complex phenomenon deserving attention
from different analysis. The study of
global burden of disease identified
alcohol use as the one of the global risk
factors accounting for 1.5% of all deaths
in the world and 3.5% of disability
adjusted life years and 4.0% of global
burden of disease( as cited in Jargen
Rehm, et al., 2004). The second national
family survey (1988-1999) results
indicate that among the Indian
Population, 17% of men, 2% of women
and aged 15% above are consuming
alcohol. The children of an alcoholic face
tough life situations, and also experience
psychological problems due to the
alcoholic behaviour of the father. It may
affects in the physical, psychological,
emotional and economical state of the
children and family as a whole. So this
study was designed to analysis the quality
of life of adolescent children of
alcoholics.
Objectives of the Study
 To understand the Socio-demographic
profile of the respondents.
 To understand the physical dimension of
children of alcoholics.
 To analysis the Mental and Emotional
state of children of alcoholics.
 To identify and access stress among
adolescent children of alcoholics.
 To know about the life enjoyment made
by adolescent children of alcoholics.
 To know about the overall quality life of
the adolescent children of alcoholics.

5. The present study was conducted in
Preshitha Social Service Society, Pollachi.
The study was describing the existing
characteristics of the respondents so that the
researcher adopted descriptive research
design. The universe for the present study is
adolescent children of alcoholics, those who
take treatment from December to February
2016 they were included for this study. 137
adolescent children of alcoholics were
facilitated their fathers for taking treatment.
Out of which the researcher selected 60
adolescent children of alcoholics for the
study. The universe is floating in nature so
that the researcher adopted purposive
sampling method for the study.
The present study is based on primary data
by administering an interview schedule. The
interview schedule was first pretested to
check for clarity and specificity and the
necessary modification were made on the
basis of the experience gained through
pretesting. The collected data were tabulated
and analyzed for the purpose of giving
precise and concise information. The
collected data was analyzed using ‘t’ test
and chi-square.
Results & Discussions
Above half 58% of the respondents are
the age group of 16yrs & above.
Three-fourth 70% of the respondents are
male children’s of alcoholics.
Above half 52% of the respondents have
attained up to HSC.
Below half 42% of the respondents
family’s monthly income level is
between Rs.10,001-Rs.20,000.
Vast majority 90% of the respondents
live in Nuclear family.
TABLE NO: 1
Distribution of the Respondents by their
Level of Quality of Life
S.
No
Dimensions No. of
Responde
nts (n :60)
Percenta
ge
1 Physical state
Low 35 58.3%
High 25 41.7%
2 Emotional/
mental state
Low 39 65%
High 21 35%
3 Stress
evaluation
Low 26 43.3%
High 34 56.7%
4 Life
enjoyment
Low 35 58.3%
High 25 41.7%
5 Overall
Quality of
Life
Low 21 35.0%
High 39 65.0%
58.3% of the respondents physical state
is low, 41.7% of the respondents
physical state is high.
65% of the respondents
emotional/mental state is low, 35% of
the respondents emotional/mental state is
high.
56.7% of the respondents have high
stress, 43.3% of the respondents have
low stress.
58.3% of the respondents low in their
life enjoyment, 41.7% of the respondents
high in their life enjoyment.
65% of the respondents have high
quality of life, 35% of the respondents
have low quality of life.
TABLE NO: 2
‘t’ test between Gender of the
Respondents with regard to level of
Quality of Life
S.
N
o
Gender X S.D. Statisti
cal
Inferen
ce
1 Physical

6. state
Male 20.54
36.
3.897
6.
t =
1.036
P>0.05
Not
Signific
ant
Female 21.44
44
3.382
00
2 Emotional/m
ental state
Male 23.02
38
3.652
52
t =
1.674
P>0.05
Not
Signific
ant
Female 23.88
89
2.676
45
3 Stress
evaluation
Male 23.24
32
3.094
85
t =
1.258
P>0.05
Not
Signific
ant
Female 23.33
33
3.464
10
4 Life
enjoyment
Male 25.30
95
4.821
13
t
=1.982
P<0.05
Signific
ant
Female 27.44
44
4.203
95
5 Overall
Quality of
Life
Male 19.00
00
4.810
70
t =
2.036
P<0.05
Signific
ant
Female 19.00
00
.0000
0
There is no significant difference
between genders of the respondents with
the physical dimension of the quality of
life.
There is no significant difference
between genders of the respondents with
the emotional/mental state of the quality
of life.
There is no significant difference
between genders of the respondents with
the respondents stress of the quality of
life.
There is significant difference between
genders of the respondents with the life
enjoyment of the quality of life.
There is significant difference between
genders of the respondents with the
overall quality of life.
TABLE NO: 3
Association between Education of the
Respondents and with regards to Quality
of Life
S.
No
.
Education
Quality of
life
Statistic
al
Inferenc
e
Physical state Low
(n=3
5)
High
(n=2
5)
X2
=
0.966
df = 2
P >0.05
Not
Significa
nt
1 Up to
SSLC
6 15
2 HSC 19 8
3 Graduatio
n
10 7
Emotional/ment
al state
Low
(n=3
9)
High
(n=2
1)
X2
=
2.354
df = 2
P >0.05
Not
Significa
nt
1 Up to
SSLC
9 7
2 HSC 20 9
3 Graduatio
n
10 5
Stress
evaluation
Low
(n=3
3)
High
(n=2
7)
X2
=
0.568
df = 2
P >0.05
Not
Significa
nt
1 Up to
SSLC
9 9
2 HSC 18 13
3 Graduatio 7 4

7. n
Life enjoyment Low
(n=3
5)
High
(n=2
5)
X2
=
0.675
df = 2
P >0.05
Not
Significa
nt
1 Up to
SSLC
10 8
2 HSC 20 11
3 Graduatio
n
5 6
Overall quality
of life
Low
(n=2
1)
High
(n=3
9)
X2
=
4.212
df = 2
P >0.05
Not
Significa
nt
1 Up to
SSLC
8 7
2 HSC 8 23
3 Graduatio
n
5 9
There is no significant association with
physical, emotional/mental dimension,
stress evaluation, life enjoyment, and
overall quality of life of respondents.
Suggesstions
Provide strong awareness among
youngsters.
Involvement of government for
eradicating alcoholism.
Take limitations and restrictions in
distributing alcohol.
Provide better treatment as early as
possible to the alcoholics.
Practice of yoga and relaxation
therapy.
Alcohol awareness from age of
adolescent.
Alcohol awareness in each village.
Government must help in the
betterment of such adolescent
children of alcoholics by providing
good education and other facilities.
Try to consult a psychiatrist in de-
addiction centre for behavioural
modification of father of such
adolescent children’s.
Keep an ethical practice which may
improves the quality of life in future.
Try to develop the confidence level
by children about his/her life.
Must practice their self to accept the
situations in their life as it comes.
Concentrate on their work and
matters related to their life
development.
Conclusions
“Children of alcoholics” is a major
subject on which many research
studies have come up. A large
portion of adolescents of alcoholics
have negative adult adjustment,
depression and relationship
difficulties. The alcoholic family
changes in regulatory behaviours
such as family rituals, daily routines
and short term problem solving
strategies may also occurs as the
family becomes organised around, or
is distorted by the presence of the
alcoholic behaviour- there may be
periods of de-stabilization and
consolidation. The role of social
worker in addressing this issue of
parental alcoholism has a lot to
do with working with the children.
Alcohol has become very much part
and parcel of the culture that
minimum one member of the family
drinks in average basis. There can be
many measures that could be
adopted to tackle the problem of
children being victimised by the
father, because of the alcohol abuse.
Many families suffer because of the
mal practice of drinking at home. It
has to be tackled for the healthy
development of the children of
alcoholics. The study has
significantly found relationship that

8. father’s alcoholism affects in quality
of life of their children’s.
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