Sociology

The Role of the Family in Alcoholism
As a personal definition, family is known for being the foundation and the basic unit of the society that undeniably plays an important role in ones development. Statistics right now shows that about 17.6 million Americans or 8.46 of the adult population are known to have alcoholic disorder.

The word family generally refers to those people related to one another through blood. However, due to changes in family structure the term now does not only refer to the nuclear family but also to the extended family members as well as single parents, ex- and step relations and even foster families. Family may also be composed of subgroups that lead to a larger family system. Families subsist also of a larger social circle, or a community, wherein each member is affected by the environment which surrounds him.

So what is the implication of this for family, social work practices and policy This has showed that we cannot separate the role of the family in the development of alcoholism or the culture of alcoholism. The presence of family breakdowns or broken homes, family dysfunction, violence, and abused are brought by alcoholism in the family.  The family though cannot be considered as the sole factor for alcoholism. People cannot deny other things like social pressure, media, community and other host of factors to blame. Alcoholism moreover develops from dependency as it is a form of social recreation and also a means to counter stressful situations with its anxietyreduction effect.

The family therefore can develop either vulnerability or resiliency to alcoholism. The Community Reinforcement and Family Training program (CRAFT) for example is a social program that aims to target directly the family and community level to provide counseling and guidance. Recovery from alcoholism is possible with the help of the family. Studies have shown that individual effort is not enough. The presence of a strong and encouraging family support along with positive influence can help very much in the process of recovery.