Who Is Most Likely to Develop Alcohol Addiction?
Some risk factors for alcohol use disorder (alcoholism) start in childhood and adolescence. What are these factors, and can they help experts identify who would be most likely to develop an alcohol addiction in adulthood?
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What Causes Alcoholism?
Why are some people able to regulate the amount and frequency of their use, while others become unable to control how much and how often they drink? In other words, what causes alcoholism?
Prevalence
One reason why there’s such great interest in the cause of alcohol use disorder is that it is one of the most common types of addiction in the U.S. and throughout the rest of the world:
- According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 400 million people, or about 7% of the global population ages 15 and above, are affected by alcohol-related disorders.
- In the U.S., the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) reports that 28 million people ages 12 and above, or about 10% of that demographic, had symptoms of alcohol use disorder in the previous 12 months.
Given the scope of this problem and the devastation that untreated alcoholism can cause, being able to predict who would most likely develop an alcohol addiction in adulthood would be a landmark achievement.
Unfortunately, achieving that goal is complicated by the fact that this condition doesn’t just have one definitive cause.
Risk factors
Instead of focusing on causes, expert discussions about a person’s susceptibility to alcoholism typically emphasize risk factors. Researchers have identified a variety of influences that can increase a person’s risk of becoming addicted to alcohol, such as:
- Family history of alcohol abuse and alcoholism
- Cultural encouragement to drink alcohol
- Early exposure to alcohol use
- Personal or family history of certain mental illnesses
- Abuse, neglect, and other adverse childhood experiences (ACEs)
- Certain genetic variations
- Inherited personality traits such as impulsivity and novelty-seeking
- Growing up in an impoverished area
- Binge-drinking, especially among adolescents and young adults
- Using marijuana, cocaine, and other addictive drugs
Who Would Most Likely Develop An Alcohol Addiction in Adulthood?
Even though behavioral health experts understand many of the risk factors for alcoholism, that doesn’t mean they can simply compare a person’s experiences with a standard list of influences to determine who would most likely develop an alcohol addiction in adulthood.
A primary reason for this is that risk factors like the ones listed in the previous section don’t always affect people in the same way. Another reason is that simply looking at risk factors ignores another important but often overlooked influence: protective factors.
What are protective factors?
Protective factors are characteristics and experiences that can lower a person’s risk of alcoholism. As enumerated in Facing Addiction in America: The Surgeon General’s Report on Alcohol, Drugs, and Health, which was published in November 2016,factors that can reduce the likelihood that young people will use alcohol or other substances include:
- Forming healthy bonds with family members, peers, and other community members
- Recognition from parents, teachers, and others for positive behaviors
- Meaningful involvement with their family, school, and community
- Ability to adapt to changes or stressors in a healthy manner
- Belief in a higher power or participation in spiritual practices
- Self-efficacy, or the belief that they can control their choices about substance use, including being able to abstain completely
- Growing up in a community that has clear expectations about avoiding substances
Other protective factors noted by other sources include positive self-image, effective social skills, and academic success.
Who is at greatest risk?
Given the range of both risk and protective factors, and the varying degrees of influence they can have on a young person’s life, is it even possible to ascertain who would be most likely to develop an alcohol addiction in adulthood?
At the moment, there is no way to do this with anything approaching certainty. But studies suggest that the following factors may exert significant influence:
- Genetic variations: According to Danielle Dick, PhD, director of the Rutgers Addiction Research Center, “Research suggests alcohol addiction is about 50 percent heritable, while addiction to other drugs is as much as 70 percent heritable.”
- ACEs: A March 2023 study in the journal Addictive Behaviors Reports noted that adults who have a history of adverse childhood experiences are 4.3 times more likely to be diagnosed with a substance use disorder in adulthood. The risk among adult women with a history of ACEs is 5.9 times higher.
- Early alcohol use: A December 2009 study in the journal Alcohol, Clinical and Experimental Research, which involved an analysis of information from more than 22,000 adults, determined that determined that people who have their first alcoholic drink before age 15 were “significantly more likely” to abuse and become dependent on alcohol during adulthood.
Someone with this type of history who lacks many of the protective factors discussed earlier may be at an elevated risk of becoming addicted.
However, regardless of what led to a person’s struggles with alcohol addiction, it’s important to remember that this is a treatable condition. When you get the help you need, you can quit drinking for good and start to live a healthier and more hopeful life in recovery.
Find Alcohol Addiction Treatment in Jacksonville, FL
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Treatment options at our rehab in Jacksonville, FL, include a partial hospitalization program (PHP), an intensive outpatient program (IOP), and a virtual IOP.
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