Addiction and alcoholism
In the treatment for alcohol addiction, the sub culture that a patient is from should be considered in the treatment process. This is because cultural beliefs shape the approach and the behavior of an individual concerning drug and substance abuse. Culture influences are essential in forming the expectations of an individual about the problems that an individual might face in drug use. Initiation into seeking treatment for excessive substance abuse can occur in periods of sudden social change in cultural groupings (NIAAA, 2012).
Acculturation or degree in which an individual identifies him with the native culture also influences the treatment process of dealing with alcoholism. It is very essential to include cultural psychiatry principles in treatment for any drug addiction treatment program (NIAAA, 2012).
The elements of an individual’s subculture that should be considered in any treatment plan for drug addiction include discussion of the cultural variations and culture bound syndromes. It is also necessarily to include the cultural relevant case formulation based on five major areas of culture. They include, the cultural identity, the cultural factors related to the psycho- social environment, the cultural elements of the relationship between the patient and the clinician and the overall cultural assessment for diagnosis (Chase & Abott, 2008).
Culture influences the expectations that people have about alcohol treatment options. Culture also influences the beliefs in a society about the meaning of deviance and the way this deviance is treated and dealt with. The realization of the influence of culture on treatment programs for alcohol addiction is very essential in adjusting the alcohol treatment programs to provide better services to patients (NIAAA, 2012).
Culturally competent alcohol treatment programs with appropriate trained behavioral health care providers are essential in providing good care to alcohol addicts. Cultural factors such as family, religion, gender roles, and socioeconomic factors may also prevent alcohol addicts from seeking help for alcohol treatment. Different cultures also have very different psychological constructs around substance abuses and the way the substance is accepted in the society (Moyer et al, 2002).
Cultural factors are some of the factors employed in the psychosocial model of alcohol addiction. The psychosocial model of alcohol dependence suggests that both social factors and some personality dimensions can cause a predisposition to alcohol. Some personalities like impulsivity, extraversion, neuroticism, may correlate with alcoholism. This psychosocial model of alcohol addiction is different from the biological model of alcohol addiction (Cloninger, Sigvardsson, & Bohman, 1996).
The biological model of alcohol addiction suggests that there is a genetic predisposing to alcohol abuse. According to the biological model of alcohol dependence, Children from alcoholic patients are also more likely to be alcoholics in their adulthood (Cloninger, Sigvardsson, & Bohman, 1996).
Combinations of biological, psychological and sociological factors interact to cause alcoholism. No single factor can be linked to alcoholism. Whichever factor either biological or psychosocial factors that cause alcoholism in people is an individual circumstance. This combination plays a very important role because it gives a more accurate picture of the alcohol dependence (Moyer et al, 2002).
The treatment for alcohol addiction should be highly individualized for each patient because the factors that cause addiction in patients are very varied (Moyer et al, 2002). An analysis of all the probable factors that may predispose a patient to alcoholism is supposed to be considered in the treatment of alcohol addiction.
References
Chase, Duane & Abbott, Patrick (2008). “Culture and substance abuse impact of culture
Affects Approach to treatment”. Psychiatric times Vol. 25 (1) (12-16).
Cloninger, C. R., Sigvardsson, S., & Bohman, M. (1996). Type I and type II alcoholism: An
Update. Alcohol Health and Research World, 20, 18–23.
Moyer, A., Finney, J. W., Swearingen, C. E., & Vergun, P. (2002). “Brief interventions for
Alcohol Problems: A meta-analytic review of controlled investigations in treatment-seeking and non-treatment-seeking populations”. Addiction, 97, 279–292.
NIAAA (2012). Ethnicity culture and alcohol. Retrieved from
http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/Social/Module10HEthnicity&Culture/Module10H.html
