Evidence shows that fifty to sixty percent of the people who become alcoholics are found to have alcoholism in their genetics. This leaves up to forty percent of the population that do not become alcoholics because a parent had a problem with drinking alcohol. These statistics have been found from a reliable source dealing with alcoholism as a disease.
There really is no way of knowing if you will become an alcoholic just because one or both of your parents drink alcohol. Although the evidence says that the odds are in your favor, the statistics prove that not all children of parents with drinking problems suffer from the disease of alcoholism.
Just to be on the safe side let me recommend that if there is a history of a problem drinkers in your family, consider staying away from the substance all together. Once someone gets addicted to alcohol it is extremely difficult to get free from the grips of the disease. The best prevention is to never even try it.
There’s a popular saying in the rooms of AA. If you don’t drink, you wont get drunk.” This obviously is the answer for you if you are a child of alcoholic parents and are concerned as to whether or not you will be an alcoholic too. The solution for you is in self discipline. There is no way that you can become an alcoholic if you never even try the stuff. So, “easy does it” and you will be just fine.
In our family there were three children. Both of our parents were alcoholics. In fact it was suggested that my dad died from drinking too much. I was very young at the time and never really heard the real story why he died. Anyway putting all of that aside, my brother and I battled with the disease of alcoholism, but my sister never had a problem with it. She does however have a “control freak” problem. This situation in my family says that the sixty percent figure is accurate. Actually, in our family the results were 66% in favor of the children becoming alcoholics if their parents suffer from the disease..
Even though the percentages of the testing that we have provided suggest that over fifty percent of the parents who have a drinking problem have children who battle with the disease, it is also suggested that the environment that a child grows up in affects their decisions to drink or not. This is a balanced approach to say a teenager can become a product of the environment that they grow up in. Here again this is not always the case. I have heard plenty of stories that suggest when children got older the last thing they wanted to do is be anything like their alcoholic parent or parents.
I guess the bottom line is that if you choose to drink alcohol, then you will get drunk and it’s possible that you will have a battle with it like your mother or father did. Just don’t do it at all. Find other ways to have fun in life and you will never have to worry about being an alcoholic because your mom or dad were.
Hi,
Thank you for this post. I go to a college (well I’ll be returning in fall) with a very unique approach to drugs and alcohol. It’s been very hard for me to feel comfortable during social situations, because a lot of people are drunk around me. I haven’t touched alcohol and my classmates always treat it with surprise, with many a “Are you sure you don’t want any?” in the conversations we have. I think the reason is because I’m afraid of becoming an alcoholic as well, but also because seeing people who are drunk makes me uneasy, just like at home. It’s no one’s fault (at least not my classmates’ fault, who are just enjoying their social activity) but my own, and I’m trying to work on that. Because I suffer from depression, a counselor at school, while surprised that I don’t touch alcohol, agreed that it would be better not to, given my family history and my depression.
Thanks.
Hi Misaranj, you have a wise counselor at your school. It sounds like you have a healthy fear that will help to keep you from drinking.
Thank you for sharing!
My mum dirnks and it scares me to think that she could die before watching grow up i’m 14 at the moment and want my mum there to see me grow up, have a wedding, have kids that sort of thing but i’m scared that when i’m older i will become an alcoholic and then i could die before watching my kids grow up and them having to go through living with an alcoholic parent like i have to and i don’t wish that on anybody. Because she is an alcoholic does that mean i will be to? all this is sort of new to me beacuse i have never found help and have never shared it with anyone but i still have that question even now could you please answear me as it would be a geat weight lifted off my shoulders
thanks.
Life is about decisions and deciding to not do alchol/drugs is an important one. There are enough stumbling blocks in life than to purposely add one on your own. Success is hard, make it as easy on yourself as possible. Don’t do drugs and be smart about drinking alcohol.
Both of my parents are alcoholics. My sister and I are not. We have never had drug problems,but we do drink occasionally. I have a half sister, her father is not an alcoholic, but she is both a drug addict and alcoholic. Go figure :\ its all about choices. I am aware that I have to be cautious about drinking and it works fine.
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