Today, January 3rd, would’ve been my grandfather’s birthday. Not surprisingly, these kinds of commemorations always make me think about families and the importance of family.
Families are related to alcohol abuse and drug addiction in many complex ways, ways we’re not entirely sure. Is addiction related to nature or nurture? It looks like both.
It looks as if substance use disorder can be related to nurturing, or more specifically, a lack of nurturing. We all know that our home environment can shape the way we see the world, how we act and react to it. Why shouldn’t things be any different when it comes to alcohol or drug abuse?
If people grow up in a home where people are abusing alcohol or drugs, they might think that substance use disorder is normal. They might have more opportunities to use alcohol or drugs themselves, due to the sheer fact that these substances are more readily available and accessible then they would be in a home without such substances. Conversely, people growing up in such environments might be so thoroughly disgusted by the effects of alcohol and drug abuse that they swear off drugs and alcohol entirely.
If people grow up in such environments, they might have parents who are using drugs or alcohol. Scientists are still trying to determine if drug addiction and alcohol abuse have genetic components, but many believe that some people might have a stronger tendency to abuse drugs or alcohol than other people. On the other hand, other people might display biological factors that might discourage them from substance use disorder, such as vomiting after using certain substances.
It appears that family, whether in the form of a person’s home environment or inherited biological factors, might determine whether a person abuses alcohol or drugs, but there’s no definitive proof that one thing causes another. This is yet another reason we have to keep learning about alcohol and drugs and their effect on the body.
