Alcohol Treatment Programs

If you are wondering whether alcohol treatment programs are a right choice for you or a loved one please consider the following alcohol studies:

The state of Hawaii has one of the highest rates of adult alcohol addiction in the United States, at an average of 4.5 out of 100 people. Only Montana and The District of Hawaii have higher rates. The national average is 3.4 per 100 people.

Almost one-third of current drinkers are classified as “heavy drinkers”(at least one binge in the previous month, or chronic use, or both). Among women who drink, almost one in five report heavy drinking, and 7% report drinking behavior indicative of alcohol dependence. Among Native Hawaiians who report drinking, fully two-thirds self-identify as heavy drinkers. This proportion rises to over 90% among young males 18 to 34 who drink. Two-thirds of Hawaiian females report drinking behavior consistent with the classification of heavy drinker.

In total, more than one in five Native Hawaiian or part-Hawaiian drinkers report behavior consistent with alcohol abuse or dependence. Despite the prevalence of these problems with alcohol, Native Hawaiian drinkers are less than half as likely as others in the population to utilize treatment services for alcohol problems. See www.hawaii.gov

Is alcoholism inherited from your parents and grandparents? This question has become the focus of many recent studies. There is a growing body of scientific evidence that alcoholism has a genetic component, but the actual gene that may cause it has yet to be identified.

Studies of laboratory animals as well as human test subjects indicate that genetic factors play a major role in the development of alcoholism, but just how much a factor remains undetermined.
Recent studies have determined that children of alcoholics are four times more likely than other children to become alcoholics, according to the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, but environmental factors could be a factor in many of those cases.

Family, twin and adoption studies have shown that alcoholism definitely has a genetic component. A study in Sweden followed alcohol use in twins who were adopted as children and reared apart. The incidence of alcoholism was slightly higher among people who were exposed to alcoholism only through their adoptive families. However, it was dramatically higher among the twins whose biological fathers were alcoholics, regardless of the presence of alcoholism in their adoptive families.

If alcoholism can be traced to a particular genetic, does it mean that someone with that gene will be an alcoholic? Not necessarily. The genes that determine alcoholism are risk factors, not a determiner of destiny. The age that a person begins to drink plays a large part in determining whether or not they will become an alcoholic. Both the age at onset of alcohol use and a family history of alcoholism can influence a person’s risk of becoming alcohol dependent.

The relationship between lifetime alcohol dependence, age at first alcohol use, and a family history of alcoholism was investigated using data obtained in the 1992 National Longitudinal Alcohol Epidemiologic Survey. This analysis demonstrated that regardless of the family history of alcoholism, participants with an earlier age of drinking onset were more likely to become alcohol dependent compared with participants with a later age of drinking onset. Among all age, race, and genders studied, however, people with a family history of alcoholism had a higher prevalence of lifetime alcohol dependence than did people without such a history.

If you are seeking treatment for yourself or a loved one, Hawaii Island Recovery has alcohol treatment programs that are a perfect fit. Please contact us via our online form or call us direct at 1.866.515.5032.

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Alcohol Treatment Programs

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