How individuals perceive problem drinkers and personalities of problem drinkers| Contributions to sustained patterns of usage
Year: 2004
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Patterns of UsageFew would dispute the pervasive nature of problems associated with alcohol use in our society today, and the resulting economic, health related, social, and psychological costs.The economic costs of alcohol due to violence, car accidents, lost productivity, illness, and premature death are staggering, resulting in a loss of an estimated 184.6 billion dollars per year (National Institute of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse, 2000).In 1999 alone, alcohol use accounted for almost 20,000 deaths in the United States, excluding motor vehicle fatalities.That same year, 26,259 deaths occurred due to Cirrhosis and Chronic Liver Disease (Center for Disease Control, 1999), common medical problems associated with prolonged alcohol usage.Furthermore, a 1992 National Longitudinal Epidemiological Survey in the United States revealed that 13,760,000 individuals aged eighteen and over met the diagnostic criteria for alcohol dependence (Grant, Hartford, Thomas, Dawson & Chou, 1994).Given the prevalence of problems associated with alcohol use, it is therefore important to continue to examine relational mechanisms that may contribute to the etiology and maintenance of alcohol use disorders.Although there have been a myriad of studies examining the causes and correlates that contribute to alcohol use problems (e.g., Lang & Stritzke, 1993), confusion often arises when working to define alcoholism operationally, and when defining problematic usage in general.There is little agreement upon a prescribed terminology used to classify an alcoholic, and definitions have changed radically over time, seemingly dependent upon societies' cultural, religious, and scientific ideologies (Keller & Doria, 1991).
Source: The Mathematics Enthusiast
Author: Wendy Michele Rothman
Institution: University of Montana
Language: English
Subfield: Epidemiology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W815757224