Do you think alcoholism can be an inherited trait?

Bretrick

Bretrick

Well-known Member
Location
Perth Western Australia
Studies suggest children of alcoholics inherit a "predisposition to alcoholism"
Though this does not mean they will become alcoholics.
Social and environmental factors also play a part.
My Father was a life time alcoholic, though did my genetic make up predispose me to becoming the alcoholic I was?
In my mind, social and environmental factors played a major role in my alcoholism.
 

My father and one of my uncles were both functioning alcoholics.

I started drinking as a teenager and continued as an expected part of my job. After I stopped working drinking gradually faded away completely.

I never had an addiction or a need to drink. Smoking on the other hand was an addiction for
me, but was never an issue for my father or my uncle.

I’m not a boozologist, but IMO drinking may be a learned behavior without a genetic link.
 
Unfortunately/fortunately, everything is passed on down by our ancestors, it's like Russian Roulette, some good, some not so much.
 

I don't know... My father was not a drinker and neither were most of his siblings... my uncles and aunts.. ( I mean they only would have a small toast on Holiday events nothing more )... yet their father my grandfather, was a very heavy drinker...I don't know if he was an alcoholic but I never knew him without the smell of alcohol on his breath.

My mother became an alcoholic in the latter stages of her life trying to block out the horrors of her marriage ... none of her siblings, were heavy drinkers... one of my sisters became a very heavy drinker at a young age...

Someone close to me is a high functioning alcoholic now... and it was learned behaviour on their part from a young age from their peers , none of their family are drinkers...
 
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i am not sure
i came from a family that seemed to become addicted to something smoking/ alcohol even prescription drugs.
I am the only one not interested.................... all siblings became heavy smokers and drinkers.
I often think many choose to blame genetics to cover for personal choices. I can believe copying things you saw growing up ...

If you ask a person like me i would say no.... I found smoking especially expensive and smelly so i never even tried it.
 
Alcohol consumption was not my drug of choice. I enjoyed hard liquor until passing out and not where I was at or how I got there.
 
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It can be, but things like culture, socialization, modeling and even aversion can determine if a alcoholic's child will become one. In my experience an alcoholic parent can make a child determined not to become one as often as it can lead them to use it.

My first husband railed against his Dad's drinking, yet became one himself--- would not quit even for our children.

My Irish Grandma was a binge drinker. Widowed with small kids, she never let it interfere with working to support them or taking care of them. My Dad barely ever touched any kind of alcohol. With his 5th wife he sometimes cooked with it, and sometimes he'd have a glass of wine.

My Mom had an awful time giving up her rum & coke when she was diagnosed with blood sugar issues. It took 3 trips to ER due to going into shock before she even tried to switch to a less sugary drink. But she couldn't give up alcohol entirely.

My boys experimented with it, after 1 or 2 hangovers they learned moderation. My daughter having heard family stories decided at a young age she wanted nothing to do with it.
 
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feywon said:
It can be, but things like culture, socialization, modeling and even aversion can determine if a alcoholic's child will become one. In my experience an alcoholic parent can make a child determined not to become one as ofyen as it can lead them to use it.

My first husband railed against his Dad's drinking, yet became one himself--- would not quit even for our children.

My Irish Grandma was a binge drinker. Widowed with small kids, she never let it interfere with working to support them or taking care of them. My Dad barely ever touched any kind of alcohol. With his 5th wife he sometimes cooked with it, and sometimes he'd have a glass of wine.

My Mom had an awful time giving up her rum & coke when she was diagnosed with blood sugar issues. It took 3 trips to ER due to going into shock before she even tried to switch to a less sugary drink. But she couldn't give up alcohol entirely.

My boys experimented with it, after 1 or 2 hangovers they learned moderation. My daughter having heard family stories decided at a young age she wanted nothing to do with it.
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I suppose it really is a persons choice.
Except maybe those young ones, 10 and up who drank what their parents gave them.
In my home town in was common for parents to give their young children alcohol.
In those instances alcohol became a norm.
 
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Bretrick said:
I suppose it really is a persons choice.
Except maybe those young one, 10 and up who drank what their parents gave them.
In my home town in was common for parents to give their young children alcohol.
In those instances alcohol became a norm.
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In Europe it is common as well. My first step father was a Hungarian refugee in late 1950s, i learned to drink at home in my early teens. But watching how differently it affected different people i felt one could control one's consumption. The 2 or 3 times i drank to excess it was deliberate , i wanted that heavy sleep with no awareness of dreams.

Except after Mom died but when i realized i was 'being' her as way to hold on to her (a matter of weeks) i reverted to moderate consumption.
 
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My grandfather (on my father's side) was an alcoholic. He had 3 sons. 2 were alcoholics. One died of alcohol poisoning in his late 30's. The other came to visit us to go to Busch Gardens when I was a kid, and when we went to pick him up at his hotel he couldn't join us because he had been on a "bender". His wife wouldn't let him drink when he was at home. He passed away in his late 40's. My father was the only one who wasn't an alcoholic. He lived to 78 y/o.

Each of the 3 sons had 1 son. I'm not an alcoholic and my "bender" uncle's son is a minister, so I think there may be a tendency but we have the opportunity to choose our own paths.
 

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