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Every family has a history and every family has genetic traits. What becomes of the family when one of those genetic traits is alcoholism and the family can trace the drinking back through the generations? Well, if the cycle is not stopped, eventually the family will fall apart. Alcoholism is a member of many dysfunctional families although which came first; the drinking or the dysfunction, is unique to each individual family. It is a fact, though, that poverty, abuse, and low self worth are also members of those families.

As the question stands now, the answer is no; alcoholism is not hereditary. However, children who have been raised in an alcoholic environment are more susceptible to the disease than those who were not. On the other hand, there are children whose parent or guardian was an alcoholic, but that child grows up and never touches a drop of alcohol at all. There are also families in which the disease seems to skip a generation. There have also been studies done on siblings with alcoholic parents. The children were removed and separated from the home at a young age and raised by mentally healthy families. However, each one of the siblings eventually suffered some form of mental illness or disorder, in addition to drug or alcohol addiction. So whether alcoholism is a question of nature or nurture, there still does not seem to be an exact answer.

Although science has not yet been able to pin point an exact gene or cell that determines alcoholism, they have been able to identify certain genetic data that indicates a disposition for alcoholism that is carried through some families. Scientists have not yet decided if it is the genetic material that causes the disease, or whether alcoholism causes changes to the family’s genetic makeup.

Tags: Alcoholism //