DL#7 HW#4 draft WP#2

Amanda Griffiths
ENG102 ss2
Rodrigo
16 July 2007
WP#2 draft

The topic I am researching is alcohol abuse in the forms of mental and physical. Although most people will agree that alcohol in excess has many dangers and consequences, not everybody knows that alcohol can damage the body outside of drunk driving crashes. Many families are torn apart because a spouse has a drinking problem, which leads to violence and anger in the home. Also, alcoholism creates physical problems later on in life. People need to learn at an early age that alcohol is not just fun and games; the reality is that if you abuse alcohol someday you will have to face consequences.
* Peele, Stanton; DeGrandpre, Richard. (2004). The Genetic Influence on Alcoholism is Exaggerated. My Genes Made Me Do It, Psychology Today. July/August 1995. Retrieved July 16, 2007 from http://find.galegroup.com.ezp.mc.maricopa.edu/ovrc/retrieve.do?subjectParam=Locale%2528en%252C%252C%2529%253AFQE%253D%2528su%252CNone%252C12%2529%2522Alcoholism%2522%2524&contentSet=GSRC&sort=Relevance&tabID=T010&sgCurrentPosition=0&subjectAction=DISPLAY_SUBJECTS&prodId=OVRC&searchId=R1¤tPosition=5&userGroupName=mcc_mesa&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&sgHitCountType=None&qrySerId=Locale%28en%2C%2C%29%3AFQE%3D%28SU%2CNone%2C12%29%22Alcoholism%22%24&inPS=true&searchType=BasicSearchForm&displaySubject=&docId=EJ3010217246&docType=GSRC.

Studies about genetics in recent years have briefly concluded that diseases like cancer and other genetic basis such as homosexuality, obesity, alcoholism and schizophrenia can be detected early on. Many scientists believe there is more hype than reality because there is no further research explaining these discoveries. Other scientists have tried scientific trials to experiment if disorders are inherited, but the correlation is not succesfully repeated. In 1990 there was a study done for an alcoholism gene. A gene of the dopamine receptor was found by two scientists, Kenneth Blum and Ernest Noble, that responded in 70% of alcoholics and 20% of non-alcoholics. A test was later done at Yale University discrediting this research because 18% of non-alcoholics, 18% of severe alcoholics, and 18% of problem drinkers all had the gene. However, studies have shown that if you are told you may be an alcoholic because a parent is, the person will drink more. This research will help me in developing the answer to my research question and how alcohol abuse starts. The author's perspective is that it is hard to tell if someone will develop alcoholism, obesity, cancer, etc. just from looking at genetics.

*Clark, Charles S. (1992, March 13). Underage Drinking. CQ Researcher Online. Volume 2 Number 10. Retrieved July 7, 2007 from http://library.cqpress.com.ezp.mc.maricopa.edu/cqresearcher/document.php?id=cqresrre1992031300&type=hitlist&num=1&.

This source explains how Spring Break has turned a relaxing break for students into a drinking frenzy. Places like Rocky Point, Florida beaches, and Lake Havasu promote heavy drinking to college students. Recently however, some Spring Break hot spots have been turning this frenzy into a safe partying place. The Department of Health and Human Services has noted that "traffic fatalities remain the No. 1 killer of youths ages 16 to 24, with alcohol involved in half the 3,361 teen highway fatalities in 1990." (Clark). "Children who are exposed to alcohol ads are likely to have beliefs about beer consumption that are more in line with a commercial reality (e.g. fun and good times) than a public health reality (e.g. caution and risk)." This research will help to explain why it is important to tell kids at an early age that drinking too much is not good for you. Some students look at college as a time for partying, not just learning.

*Nathan, Peter E. et al. Understanding Alcohol Use Disorders and Their Treatment. American Psychological Association Help Center. Retrieved July 7, 2007 from http://www.apahelpcenter.org/articles/article.php?id=45.

It was exactly what I was looking for. It pinpoints how casual drinking can easily turn into dependency, why people turn to drinking to cope with issues, and fully defines the term alcohol dependent. It went on to describe the many causes of alcohol-related disorders and how it effects the people around the person. Also, the article explained how a psychologist can help an alcoholic. "Short-term effects include memory loss, hangovers, and blackouts. Long-term problems associated with heavy drinking include stomach ailments, heart problems, cancer, brain damage, serious memory loss, and liver cirrhosis. Heavy drinkers also markedly increase their chances of dying from automobile accidents, homicide, and suicide." (Nathan) It also explained how to tell if you or someone you know has a drinking problem. I will use this in my research on short-term and long-term effects of alcohol, how a psychologist can help, and the emotional side that effects families.

* Data/Statistical Tables. (July 2006). National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism from the National Institutes of Health. Retrieved July 7, 2007 from http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/Resources/DatabaseResources/QuickFacts/default.htm.

This website gives all kinds of statistics of alcohol abuse including alcohol consumption and health problems, economic costs, fatal traffic crashes, and many more. There are also graphs and tables that I can use for visuals. The information is more biased towards the dangers of drinking because it doesn't include statistics on how alcohol can help people.

* Fiellin, David A. MD, O'Connor, Patrick G. MD. (2007, June 26). Alcohol Abuse. Arizona Health Information- ACP Pier: The Physicians' Information and Education Resource. Retrieved July 16, 2007 from <http://libproxy.nau.edu:2107/Document/Document.aspx?DocId=209&FxId=92&Scroll=1&Index=0&SessionId=9FD770NNEOFXEHKH>

This article was a guideline for doctors to use when identifying alcohol abuse. This resource goes through the steps of detecting and identifying alcohol abuse and then rehab through medicine and nonmedicine. The author stated that "because alcohol use disorders tend to be chronic, relapsing, and progressive, it is advisable to prevent their development in abstinent and low-risk drinkers through advice about safe drinking limits" and "physician advice may prevent abstinent and low-risk drinkers from increasing their alcohol consumption to at-risk levels." This is a very smart idea. People need to know what a good limit of drinking is so they don't drink too much at a given time because this may lead to dependency. The first step to alcoholism is increased levels of drinking in one day to achieve the same effect as before. The next step is possible hospitalization and then treatment using drugs and psychological help. Help after treatment is necessary to maintain abstinence from alcohol. I will use this research in my paper to explain how to treat alcoholism.

* National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. (2006). Drinking and Your Pregnancy. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health. NIH Publication No. 96-4101. Retrieved July 16, 2007 from http://libproxy.nau.edu:4183/publications/DrinkingPregnancy_HTML/pregnancy.htm.

This source has information on the effects of drinking while pregnant. There is a disorder that babies are born with when there mother drinks when the baby is in the fetus, called Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Not every baby whose mother drank alcohol will get this, but there is a high risk. The baby may be born small, have problems eating, drinking, seeing and hearing, have learning disabilities, have trouble paying attention, and many other problems that will never go away. Not many people know about this aand mothers especially need this information because it would be devastating to have a baby born with problems that you personally caused. The author did a good job explaing what a mother needs to know about not drinking alcohol and places to call for help. This is just one of the dangers of drinking alcohol that I will use in my paper.

* Thornton, Mark. (1991, July 17). Policy Analysis: Alcohol Prohibition Was a Failure. Cato Institute. No. 157. Retrieved July 16, 2007 from http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa-157.html.

This source was very interesting. It explained the prohibition on alcohol in the twenties and how it was a bad idea. Alcohol use increased instead of decreased because people were told not to. This helped to negatively pave the way to how alcohol is looked at in our society today. The goverment also spent more money to put people caught drinking alcohol in jail, and for more police officers to enforce the laws. The author's perspective is not that drinking is bad, but that it was a bad idea to make it illegal because of the after effects. More people had a drinking problem after the Pohibition than before. I will use this in my paper to explain how the government sort of made alcohol the problem it is today.

* Lieber, Charles S. (2001) Alcohol and Hepatitis C. Alcohol Research and Health. Retrieved on July 7, 2007 from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0CXH/is_4_25/ai_84926096.

This source explained how Hepatitis C, alcohol related, is formed. It is the leading cause of fibrosis and cirrhosis and is a major cause of death in the United States. Hepatitis C is a slow killer and most people don't find out they have it until it has gotten worse. It also explains the unattractive symptoms that Hepatitis C includes. The author gave just the facts with an unbiased tone. I will use this as a danger of drinking to answer my research question.