Alcohol Abuse - Causes

Causes

The reason of Alcohol abuse is complex. It is related to economic and biological origins and is associated with adverse health consequences. Peer pressure influences individuals to abuse alcohol; however most of the influence of peers is due to inaccurate perceptions of the risks of alcohol abuse. According to Gelder, Mayou and Geddes (2005) easy accessibility of alcohol is one of the reasons people engage in alcohol abuse as this substance is easily obtained in shops. Another influencing factor among adolescents and college students are the perceptions of social norms for drinking; people will often drink more to keep up with their peers because they believe that their peers drink more than they actually do or that they expect to drink more given the context (e.g. sporting event, fraternity party, etc.). This perception of norms results in higher alcohol consumption than is normal. Alcohol abuse is also associated with acculturation, because social and cultural factors such as an ethnic group’s norms and attitudes can influence alcohol abuse. The instantaneous effect of drugs releases the neurotransmitter dopamine which acts as reinforcement for the behavior. Laboratory studies of ad-lib consumption of alcohol by alcoholics have often indicated that continued drinking is associated with self-reports of increased anxiety and depression

Alcohol abuse during adolescence greatly increases the risk of developing an alcohol use disorder in adulthood due to changes to neurocircuitry that alcohol abuse causes in the vulnerable developing adolescent brain. Younger ages and the male gender in recent studies have shown to be associated with increased rates of alcohol abuse within the general population.