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Causes of alcoholism

Alcoholism is related to excessive drinking. Studying the causes of the latter is actually studying the causes of the former. There is always a multiplicity of causes of excessive drinking that must be seen both in cross-section of time and longitudinally. These are:

  1. A.

    Excessive drinking for the drug effect.

  2. B.

    Excessive drinking for psychodynamic reasons

  3. C.

    Excess drinking and environmental influences

  4. D.

    Failure in controls

  5. E.

    Genetic influences

  6. F.

    Excessive Drinking as a circular process

  7. G.

    Burnt out causes and experiences which lie dormant

What must be immediately apparent is that if the individual's drinking can result from such a variety and interplay of influences that the treatment approach should also be focusing to all the above

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Laskaratos, C. Causes of alcoholism. Ann Gen Hosp Psychiatry 2 (Suppl 1), S37 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-2832-2-S1-S37

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-2832-2-S1-S37

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