Spadevicchia 1
van” (New York Daily News). When the
Report
police found her and booked her she was
recorded at having a blood alcohol
Amber Spadevicchia
content of .708. In the state of South
Dakota the legal limit is .08, Marguerite
Alcoholism: Is It
Environmental?
Introduction
was “nearly nine times the legal limit”
(New York Daily News). The lethal
amount of blood alcohol for anyone to
consume is .40. How she was able to
drive or was still alive is still unknown
to everyone who knows her. The highest
blood alcohol record that was “Recorded
in South Dakota was .56” Meade County
State Attorney Jesse Sondreal had stated
to the New York Daily news. But that
was not the end of her game. She did not
appear for her court date and was found
again “Passed out behind the wheel of
another stolen vehicle on another
highway near Sturgis” (New York Daily
On December 1, 2009
Marguerite Engle was found “Slumped
behind the wheel of a stolen delivery
News). Marguerite Engle now holds the
“ignoble” title of setting the record for
“Highest blood alcohol level” (New
Spadevicchia 2
York Daily News) in the state of South
disturbs the structure and function of the
Dakota. The question to ask is; did she
central nervous system, can inflame the
gain her alcohol problem through her
mouth, esophagus and stomach and can
environment?
cause cancer in those areas, can harm
your vision, damage sexual function,
slow circulation, be grounds for
malnutrition and water retention, and can
lead to kin[dney] and pancreatic
disorders, and weaken the bones and
muscles, thus, decreasing immunity”
Alcohol is considered to be
(Alcohol Addiction-Compulsive need).
addicting simply because it numbs the
Environmental influences can cause a
body and emotions. But a person must
person to become an alcoholic. Some of
consume a considerable amount to
these environment influences can be
become addicted (Alcoholism and
stress, learned habits, and social
Genetics). As they drink, an alcoholic
pressure.
begins to build a tolerance to the alcohol
and that in return makes them drink
more to continue to get the numb feeling
they are searching for. Alcohol can
destroy people’s lives because it can
cause many health problems and many
problems with your social status.
Alcohol can “Destroy brain cells,
Stress
Spadevicchia 3
Stress is a major cause of
Alcoholic). The same goes when a
alcoholism, because a person may
person is going through a financial
experience stress with work, financial
crisis. Things like bills that are going
matters, traumatic experiences, and even
unpaid can give someone a huge amount
family members (Mordey, Alcohol
of stress. It causes them to worry about
Addiction: Common Risk Factors for
losing their homes, cars, protection, and
Becoming an Alcoholic). That then
comfort. This can cause a person to turn
causes them to want to feel numb and
to something to get the relaxing feeling.
alcohol gives people this feeling.
Something like alcohol.
A survey of 27,000 people
(average age: 43) by the
National Institute on Alcohol
Abuse and Alcoholism found
that those who reported the
greatest number of stressful
incidents in their lives drank
the most (Young Drinkers
Turn to Alcohol to Relieve
Stress).
When a person is having a hard time at
work, like say their boss is really riding
them or they have too much of a work
load, they want to come home and relax.
Traumatic experiences can also
cause a huge amount of stress on one
person. Experiences like: being raped,
car accidents, loss of a family member,
abuse, etc. Most people, who turn to
alcohol and become alcoholics due to
this type of problem, usually do it so
they can’t remember it or can’t feel it.
Problems with family members
Alcohol can give this person a feeling of
cause high amounts of stress as well.
relaxation. “Alcohol is used as an escape
Something like a fight with a close
mechanism and to help relax the user”
relative could cause a person to turn to
(Mordey, Alcohol Addiction: Common
alcohol. This makes the person want to
Risk Factors for Becoming an
Spadevicchia 4
forget about the problem that caused the
them to have it in the house. It can also
fight, making them turn to alcohol.
cause the child to suffer.
Learned Habits
The child can feel less happy
because they get less attention
or because they can get
insecure because they are
unsure what their parent may
do while intoxicated (Moelker,
Is Alcoholism Hereditary).
This causes the child to feel stressed and
gives the child the feeling of neglect.
Learned habits are a source of
alcoholism as well. Children are a good
example of this. When a “Child grows
up in a family that drinks at a constant
When a child grows up in an
environment in which people
drink a lot, they can suffer
from this. They can feel less
happy because they get less
attention or because they get
insecure about the sometimes
unpredictable or maybe
threatening behavior of their
father or mother. An unhappy
childhood can then play a role
in the development of alcohol
problems at a later age (Is
Alcoholism Hereditary).
rate or suffers from alcoholism they
This can cause a child to believe that
observe and learn from what their
their parent’s condition is the child’s
parents do” (Alcoholism and Drug
fault (Children Growing up with
Addiction Help). They see that their
Alcoholic Parents- Sure Signs to Look
alcoholic parents enjoy drinking and
out for). When the child feels this way it
they see that it’s a fun substance to have.
gives the feeling of guilt and can give
The child also gets used to having the
the child a reason to believe that
alcohol around therefore it’s normal for
Spadevicchia 5
everything that goes wrong is the child’s
developing a dependency to alcohol”
fault.
(Mordey, Alcohol Addiction: Common
Social Pressure
Risk Factors for Becoming an
Alcoholic). The most common age for a
Social pressure causes a person
teenager to start drinking is around the
to turn to alcohol to. Most of the people
age of 15. This age unfortunately keeps
who turn to alcohol due to social
getting lower and lower every year.
pressure are younger ages such as high
school and college students.
Friends who use alcohol may
tempt someone to drink more.
Peer pressure can result in a
child drinking at a young age.
The earlier a person starts
drinking, the greater chance
there is the person will develop
a drinking problem (Shaw,
Environmental Factors of
Alcoholism).
“2005 Monitoring the Future study
shows that 11 percent of 8th graders,
22 percent of 10th graders, and 29
percent of 12th graders had engaged in
heavy episodic drinking within the
past two weeks (January 2006)”
(Alcohol Alert).
If a child is new to a school they want to
fit in. If the group that they are trying to
fit in with drinks they will drink to show
they can fit in with that group. Teenagers
want to feel cool. But this could cause
Teenagers are not the only type
the early stages of becoming an
alcoholic. “Surrounding themselves
of people who can be influenced to drink
alcohol due to social pressure. Adults
with others who indulge in drinking
can also feel pressured into drinking.
alcohol frequently puts them at risk for
Spadevicchia 6
“Alcoholics often have poor social skills
Studies have indicated that many things
and do not function well in social
can cause a person to become an
situations. They may drink in order to
alcoholic. While some of the causes of
feel more comfortable in social
alcoholism can have a genetic base,
situations” (What Causes Alcoholism).
many environmental factors such as,
The most common social situations that
stress, learned habits, and social pressure
adult alcoholics don’t feel comfortable
are known to greatly increase the
are social gatherings, such as, a holiday
likelihood of alcoholism. They choose
party.
the alcohol for help to deal with the
Conclusion
Can people say that alcoholism is
an environmentally inflicted disease?
problems in their life.
Spadevicchia 7
Work Cited
Alcohol Addiction – Compulsive Need, http://www.allaboutlifechallenges.org/alcoholaddiction.htm. Web. 5 February 2011.
Alcohol Alert. http://pubs.niaaa.gov/publications/AA67/AA67.htm. January 2006. Web.
13 February 2011.
Alcoholism and Genetics. http://web.pdx.edu/~hue/alcoholism_and_genetics.htm. Web.
13 February 2011.
Alcoholism and Drug Addiction Help. http://www.alcoholism-and-drug-addictionhelp.com/Alcoholism-hereditary.html. Web. 13 February 2011.
Alexander, Chris M. Alcoholic Parents Lead to Alcohol Abuse in Kids.
http://www.aboutdwi.com/blog/alcoholic-parents-abuse-kids/.
5 August 2010.Web. 16 March 2011
Children Growing Up with Alcoholic Parents – Sure Signs to Look Out for, http://www.
AlcoholAddict.info/alcohol-addiction/children-growing-alcoholic-parentssigns.html 14 May 2010.Web. 3 March 2011.
Mordey, Alastair. Alcohol Addiction: Common Risk Factors for Becoming an Alcoholic.
www.thecabinchiangmai.com.Web. 3 March 2011.
Moelker, Wendy. Is Alcoholism Hereditary? http://web4health.info/gr/add-alcoholinherited.htm.22 July 2008. Web. 13 February 2011.
Schapiro, Rich. South Dakota drunk driver Marguerite Engle’s blood alcohol level may
have Broken staterecord. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national
/2009/12/31/2009-12-31_south_dakota _drunk_driver_marguerite_engle.html. 31
December 2009. Web. 13 February 2011.
Shaw, Jerry. Environmental Factors of Alcoholism.http://www.livestrong.com/
article/89758-environmental-factors-alcoholism/. Web. 3 March 2011.
What Causes Alcoholism. http://www.learn-about-alcoholism.com/what-causesalcoholism.html.Web. 6 March 2011.
Spadevicchia 8
Young Drinkers Turn to Alcohol to Relieve Stress. http://www.jointogether.org/news/
research/Summaries/2007/young-drinker-turn-to.html. 12 January 2007. Web. 3
March 2011