Alcoholism - would it be a good topic for a research paper?

Hello,
I was wondering would Alcoholism be a good topic for a research paper? Any advice would be great thanks.

Greetings!

Yes, I think that would be an excellent choice! My reasons for saying so are that 1) Much has been written about it and many studies have been done; 2) There are several different ways you could approach the topic: its effect on families (a sociological perspective); the causes, effects and treatment of alcoholism (a medical perspective); 3) If you are to write a thesis which takes a strong position, you could discuss a controversial aspect of treatment, such as judges ordering convicted drunk drivers into 12-Step programs, which have a quasi-religious basis.

I hope this helps to give you some ideas!

Thanks,

Sarah, EssayForum.com

Hello,
I have a started version of my paper and I am mainly just looking for some feedback and what you think of it so far and what I can do to improve it. Got an ideas for a creative title?
Thanks for all your help.
Jen

Alcoholism
When you hear the word "drug" what do think automatically comes to your mind? Well, most likely it will be an illegal drug that anyone can find on the streets. Like cocaine, heroin, marijuana. Very few people think of alcohol as a drug, but if alcohol is constantly abused it can even be more harmful then an illegal substance. I believe that alcohol and alcoholism has become a major issue in our society and needs to be handled differently. By this I think that we need to look in depth of what alcoholism really is, what causes it, who is effected and what are the treatments for alcoholism. For people to stop abusing alcohol or drugs they must have options that will help and assist them through the process of over coming their addiction. People do not realize irresponsible drinking of alcohol can destroy a person's life. When someone becomes psychologically and physical dependent on alcohol they become an alcoholic and suffer from a disease called alcoholism.
Alcohol is a very common substance in our society today. Studies have shown that "in a single year, between 7.4% and 9.7% of the population are dependent on alcohol." (Torr 21) But many issues can arise from drinking alcohol if you do not drink wisely. It is said that there is "approximately 14 million alcohol abusers in America, it is estimated that slightly less than 7 million are alcoholics." (Harvey 6) When someone becomes both physically and psychologically addicted to alcohol, they become an alcoholic and suffer from a disease called alcoholism. The Webster's Dictionary defines it as the "habitual excessive consumption of alcohol." So in other words alcoholism is an uncontrollable use of alcohol.
So now who really becomes an alcoholic? Many people who have experience long-term depression, anxiety, chronic pain and personal or work stress that results in them turning to alcohol for relief. When someone becomes an alcoholic they will not have any control over how many drinks or how often they drink. There life and time will become occupied with drinking and continuing to drink. Many people will deny that they are alcoholics or that they are addicted to alcohol. They will begin to develop and build up a tolerance to alcohol which will result in consuming more alcohol to become intoxicated.
But what really causes alcoholism? Well if anyone is drinking alcohol steadily and at a constant rate, you are most likely to develop a dependence on alcohol. Some people will also experience withdraw symptoms when they are not exposed to alcohol. But this let alone does not cause someone to be an alcoholic, genetics and culture can play a role in the development of alcoholism. Many people that have a family history of alcoholism are at a higher risk of being an alcoholic as well. Another key factor for someone more likely to become an alcoholic is if they start to drink at a young age. Anyone can become an alcoholic, but it is said that, "currently 1.9 million young people between the ages of 12 and 20 are considered heavy drinkers and 4.4 million are binge drinkers" (Torr 21) Sometimes it is even said that your gender will play a role in becoming an alcoholic. In general, it is said that most alcoholics are men, yet many studies have shown an increase of alcoholism in women. It is said that approximately about 9.3% of alcoholics are men and that 1.9% is women. Although it is less likely for a woman to be an alcoholic, many researchers have found that women become alcoholics later on in their life and are more likely to become addicted. Research has found that genetic factors can contribute to someone being an alcoholic. Research has proven that the genetic factor for women is a much weaker link then in men. Studies have also shown that people that are depressed and have anxiety play a role in the development of becoming an alcoholic.
So how serious is alcoholism in our society? Well it is said that "about 100,000 deaths a year" (Torr 23) are connected to alcohol. Alcoholism is also known to take off 10 to 12 years of your life expectancy. "Alcoholism can kill in many different ways," (Torr 22) when you drink regularly you have a much higher rate of dying from cancer, injuries and violence due to all the alcohol consumed. Researchers have found out that drinking excessive amounts of alcohol is known to lead to a wide range of health problems. They have found that the more alcohol someone drinks can lead to irregular heart beats and an increase in blood pressure. Alcohol is even known to increase your risk at getting cancer in your life. It has been proven that about 75% of esophagus cancers and that 50% of cancers in the mouth were a result in drinking alcohol heavily. But the organ that is the most vulnerable to alcohol is the liver, and brain "about 10% to 35% of heavy drinkers develop liver disorders." (Torr 25) The alcohol damages the liver because the alcohol converts the alcohol into a toxic substance referred as acetaldehyde, which is what causes the most damage to the liver. The alcohol, is also known to interfere with your absorption of proteins, vitamins and other nutrients. "Alcohol causes a deficiency with the vitamin-B, which can result in the disease called Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, the most common symptoms of the disease are loss of balance, confusion and memory loss; this can result in brain damage that can even lead to death" (Torr 26).
One major controversy about alcoholism is whether alcoholism is a disease or just a bad habit. Many people believe it to be weakness and that many people can drink responsibly if they wanted to. A recent survey found that people other than counselors and psychiatrists thought that "at least 25% of alcoholism is due to personal or moral weakness" (Harvey 10). Alcoholism was first recognized as a disease in the 1960 after a man named E.M. Jellinek's published his book The Disease Concept of Alcoholism. Jellinek's referred to alcoholism as "an involuntary disorder that is damaging to one's health, and thus a disease." (Harvey 10) Jellinek's wanted people to know that an unknown biological factor caused the disease. But many critics disagreed with Jellinek's and believed that alcoholism did not develop because a biological factor. Instead many people viewed the reason alcoholics drank as a way to relieve their personal problems and stress in life. But since then there has more research conducted, like in the 1990's there was a discovery that indeed there is a gene mutation associated with alcoholism. "We know from hundreds of studies conducted by thousands of researchers, that alcoholism is a progressive, physiological, genetically determined disease." (Harvey 11) But yet to this day many people still do not understand alcoholism and if it is truly in the genetic roots.
Getting treatment for alcoholism is essential for anyone to be able to survive this deadly disease. But often is the hardest step for many alcoholics, because many do not believe that they are addicted or have a problem with alcohol. The people and the loved ones around them are most often the ones that recognize the problem and take the first step to treatment. Many studies have shown that the main reason for people not seeking help is because of the lack of confidence in successful therapies and the denial of their own alcoholism. However the best form of treatment is through group meetings among other alcoholics and their family members. The key to making this work is that the alcoholic and family members are fully aware that alcoholism is a disease and that the response of the disease is the need or carving for alcohol and fear of withdraw are symptoms of the disease and the treatment for this disease is a long and painful process. Many studies have found that "the two basic goals of long-term treatment are total abstinence and replacement of the addictive patterns with satisfying, time filling behaviors." (Torr 27) Yet it is often found that many people will relapse, it is said that about 80 percent relapse because of many factors some being, frustration, anger and social pressure.
People do recover everyday from alcoholism but I believe that they very rarely do it on their own; many people will rely on outside help to fully recover. One of the very widely known form of treatment that everyone turns toward is known as Alcoholic's Anonymous or AA. AA was founded in 1935 and founded by Bill Wilson. AA is very well known for its twelve step program where the alcoholics have to admit that they are alcoholics and that alcohol is harming their life and family members around them. AA has stated that "our primary promise is to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety." (Torr 90) Anyone can join AA because it is voluntary, has no requirements like dues or fees. AA's methods are spiritual, AA does this by putting an emphasis on a "higher power" or God can help and restore them. But some people don't think that AA is that effective, it is said that they work but only to a tiny percent of the addicted people.
Many of the treatments for alcoholism require ongoing treatment and monitoring constantly and many of the types of treatments include some form of therapy. But, currently the FDA has approved three medications for the treatment of alcohol dependence. The first approved drug is known as Disulfram which is a "aversion-based therapy for alcohol dependence that produces sensitivity to alcohol, resulting in a highly unpleasant reaction when the patient under treatment ingests even small amounts of alcohol." (Swift 16) Studies have found that this oral drug that is taking daily has a positive effect of reducing the number of days of drinking. The second drug, Naltrexone and was approved in 1994, by the FDA. Naltrexone is also known to treat alcohol dependence. The results of this treatment reported that the patients had lower levels of alcohol cravings and that it was a very effective treatment. The last drug approved by the FDA, is acamprostate which is used for maintaining abstinence. But was found not to be very effective, the drug is poorly absorbed by the body and does not show a decrease in days of heavy drinking or an increase in days for abstinence.

Greetings!

You've written an informative essay! Here are some editing tips:

When you hear the word "drug" what do think automatically comes to your mind? - Unless your instructor has told you otherwise, it is best to avoid using the second person, i.e., addressing your reader directly.

The same thing goes for first person ("I believe that...") unless you are writing an opinion paper, or have otherwise been instructed to use first person. A research paper is normally written in third person, in a more detached, even scientific, fashion.

Also, rather than saying "It is said that..." and then giving the quotation and author, make it clear that you are referring to a researcher's findings: "Harvey noted that..." or "Research conducted by Harvey found that..."

Keep up the good work!

Thanks,

Sarah, EssayForum.com

Hello,
I have added this on to my argumentative research paper and I would like to know if flows okay or if I am to repetitive in some areas?
Thanks for all your help it is greatly appreciated!
Jen

As a little girl you could say that I had a close relationship with my dad. But as I got older, I began to recognize and develop a better understanding of things. I would soon come to realize that my dad had a secret problem that would tear apart our family. My dad would turn to alcohol as his relief from his problems in life that he wasn't willing to face. When he hit rock bottom we were all there to support him. As a family we would attend family counseling and he was also entered in an alcoholic's anonymous program. But, yet we would eventually find out that all this was not actually helping him deal with his drinking problem. The disease had still managed to take over his life and he would still end up turning to alcohol to cover up his problems. Alcoholism is a disease that has many different dimensions. Many times alcoholism starts during a person's high school or college years. This is when my fathers drinking habits came into play. The alcohol began to control and take over his life. The drinking habits began to conflict with his personal relationships with his family, friends and began to affect his job. This unfortunate disease is known to affect many of the families and friends of the alcoholics and many of them are not even aware of it.
The boy that sits in the third row of the classroom sticks out his tongue at the teacher. As the teacher turns around and begins to see this behavior thinking that this student will be such a trouble maker and turn out to be a very disruptive student. But do you honestly think that this student is really that bad? Maybe he has problems at home and this is his way of expressing it. Well this young boy is beginning to show signs of a scapegoat which is a person that will take the blame for others or is known to suffer in their place. Many children will take on this role when there is an alcoholic parent in their lives. When someone has a drinking problem it will affect everyone around them whether that is their kids, wife, close family members or friends.
Trying to get an alcoholic to stop drinking can be very challenging, and there is no one way or method in using for the recovery process of alcoholism that will work for everyone. There is also "no cure" for this disease. Most often as stated before alcoholism's is a symptom of a deeper underlying problem that must be recognized or the disease will progress until someone hits rock bottom. With that all said the Government has made many efforts to promote that alcohol is a harmful substance. Some of the measures that they have taken are limiting the days and hours that alcohol can be purchased, limiting advertising, increasing the taxes on alcoholic beverages, limiting the sale of alcohol beverages to people of specific ages and decreasing the blood alcohol level for driving vehicles. Yet still with all these limits on alcohol it is still is a major issue in our society. Many of these different measures put in place by the government could often lead to many problems as well as misuse of alcohol. That is why it is important for people to know the difference between drinking and abuse. We must always continue to educate people to beware of their two choices they have, abstinence or to drink responsibly or in a moderate fashion.
The research on preventing alcohol abuse and alcoholism has greatly changed over the years. Many years ago the main way to preventing alcohol abuse was through education based prevention. But over the years that has changed the prevention ways have widen to now including laws and policies to reduce the alcohol abuse and alcoholism in our society.
When the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration conducted a survey and found that 16,000 people in 1997 were killed in traffic accidents that involved alcohol. Since then research has proven that deaths related to alcohol accidents have dropped by one-third because of many different factors that have come into play with the different laws that have been put in force. The zero tolerance law took affect in April of 1998 which legislation would set the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) for anyone under the age of 21 to be in the range of zero to 0.02. Many states would also adopt the law that if someone was driving with a BAC of .10 percent which has now been lowered to a .08 percent and if caught you are subject to fines, jail, your license will be taken and your insurance rates can even be affected.
The start of alcohol abuse is said to blossom in your college years, it is said that "approximately 60 percent of both high school and college students drink regularly (Torr). Many of these students are entering a new lifestyle a symbol of "adulthood." Many of these students will be under the legal age to consume alcohol, when they are put in this new lifestyle they find many opportunities to be exposed to alcohol. When they are exposed to alcohol and have the opportunity they soon will begin to abuse alcohol and drink irresponsibly. Harvey refers to drinking "as an enticing "forbidden fruit" " (179). As a result in the past we tired prohibition legislation to help control the irresponsible drinking in our nation. "Prohibition did not work then and prohibition for young people under the age of twenty-one is not working now" (Torr 180). Which is why I believe that we need to find an alternation approach to lower the drinking of students under the age of twenty-one because it has been proven that early onset drinking can result in becoming alcohol dependent in their lives.
Since alcoholism and alcohol abuse has become such a major issue in our nation, I believe that we need to take action and find a more effective way that will help lower underage drinking and possibly the number of alcoholics we have in our society. The way that we can achieve this is by looking into Mike Brake's approach that he suggested in the Newsweek in 1994. Mike Brake suggested "that individuals should be required to obtain a "license to drink," just as they must do in order to drive or own a gun, and to show these license when purchasing alcohol" (Torr 156). I think that this would be a great way for our society to reduce alcohol abuse and related problems. Like any license the individual could loose the license if they are "convicted of an alcohol-related crime, and "from that point, on" Mike Brake says, "attempting to buy or possess alcohol or being found with a detectable blood level of booze would subject them to a misdemeanor charge" (Torr 156). A professor at the University of Colorado, Roderic B. Park, has suggested his thoughts on the alcohol abuse and is connected with Brake's theory. Park believes that we should give young people a "learner's permit" for drinking, so that they can be exposed to alcohol. Parks believes that this learner's permit will allow people to learn to drink more responsibly. Parks idea is targeted towards the younger aspect of our society and they would still need their parents or guardians permission and they would be limited to the use of alcohol. Parks says that, "the way people become most responsible is by giving them responsibility" (Torr 156). Which this learners permit would give them that responsibility and expose them to alcohol and teach them to drink responsibly.
There is much exploration to be done of the scientific evidence that supports the understanding of the puzzle, alcoholism. But in the long run our urgent task now is to develop an alternative way to treat and handle the alcohol abuse in our society. I believe that promoting abstinence through education, treatment and reducing the availability of alcohol will overall benefit the society and hopefully lower the rate of alcoholics at a gradual rate for this society.

Greetings!

You've written a good essay! Here are some editing tips:

an Alcoholic's Anonymous program.

This is when my father's drinking habits came into play.

The teacher turns around and sees this behavior, thinking that this student will be such a trouble maker and turn out to be a very disruptive student.

Many years ago the main way to prevent alcohol abuse was through education. But over the years that has changed. Prevention has widened to include laws and policies to reduce the alcohol abuse and alcoholism in our society.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration conducted a survey and found that 16,000 people in 1997 were killed in traffic accidents that involved alcohol.

The zero tolerance law took affect in April of 1998. This legislation would set the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) for anyone under the age of 21 to be in the range of zero to 0.02. Many states would also adopt the law that if someone was driving with a BAC of .10 percent (which has now been lowered to .08 percent) and if caught, you are subject to fines, jail, your license will be taken and your insurance rates can even be affected.

he start of alcohol abuse is said to blossom in your college years; it is said that "approximately 60 percent of both high school and college students drink regularly" (Torr). Many of these students are entering a new lifestyle, a symbol of "adulthood." Many of these students will be under the legal age to consume alcohol. When they engage in this new lifestyle they find many opportunities to be exposed to alcohol.

Which is why I believe that we need to find an alternate approach to lower the drinking of students under the age of twenty-one because it has been proven that early onset drinking can result in becoming alcohol dependent.

The way that we can achieve this is by looking into Mike Brake's approach that he suggested in Newsweek in 1994.

As with any license, the individual could lose the license

This learners permit would give them that responsibility and expose them to alcohol and teach them to drink responsibly.

Good job!

Thanks,

Sarah, EssayForum.com

Hello,



Ruth Engs a professor at the University of Indiana, and also the author of the books, Alcohol and Other Drugs and Responsibility.

Hello,
For the sentence below I was wondering what would be the proper way to use the author's book titles in a sentence, would I underline them or italicize them?
Thanks for your help!
Jen

Ruth Engs a professor at the University of Indiana, and also the author to the books Alcohol and Other Drugs and Responsibility, has notice the concern and abuse of alcohol.

Good afternoon!

How you cite a book in a research paper depends on the citation style you are using and how it is to be published. MLA, for example, requires that if the essay is going to be printed out that the title be italicized, while if it is going to be produced electronically, that it be underlined. Check your required citation style to be sure of what you need.

Regards,
Gloria
Moderator, EssayForum.com