My Parents Are Alcoholics…Will I Be?

The more correct and modern term for alcoholism is alcohol use disorder. According to the diagnostic standards that addiction and mental health professionals use, this condition may be categorized as mild, moderate, or severe. The term alcoholic typically refers to someone with a moderate-to-severe disorder.

The causes of any addiction are varied and complex. Alcohol use disorder may be triggered by a number of factors: genetics, environment, personality, brain chemistry, past trauma, and others. The known risk factors for alcoholism include:

• Heavy, regular alcohol use
• A family history of alcoholism
• Drinking beginning at an early age
• Mental illnesses such as depression or anxiety
• Past traumatic experiences
• Spending time with people who drink regularly

Family history is not something you can control, and unfortunately studies suggest that it accounts for between 45 and 65 percent of the risk of developing an alcohol use disorder. This is significant but not insurmountable. Some of the other risk factors can be controlled, while others cannot.

It is essential to know that having parents with alcohol use disorders does not guarantee that you will also become an alcoholic. Risk factors indicate risk, but they do not control your destiny. You may have a more difficult time resisting alcohol than other people do or a more exaggerated reaction to drinking. You may have to try harder to manage drinking and to be responsible with alcohol, but you do not have to become an alcoholic. It is not inevitable.

While researchers have found specific genes that contribute to heavy drinking and alcoholism, it is also important to note that part of the reason family history is a risk factor has to do with being in a similar environment as your family members. Problem drinking may run in a family due to genes but also because family members were subjected to the same environmental factors, like abuse or trauma. You can’t control your past experiences, but when you are aware of them you can manage them in healthier ways than by drinking.

Understanding the signs of an alcohol use disorder is important because it will help you watch for these in your own behaviors. Awareness is an important step in preventing or curbing problem drinking.

The criteria used to diagnose alcohol use disorder are found in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Two or three criteria may mean you have a mild disorder, while the presence of more indicates a moderate or severe disorder. Those criteria include:

1. Frequently using more alcohol or drinking more frequently than intended
2. Repeated efforts to cut back on drinking but failing to do so
3. Spending a lot of time and money on drinking and recovering from drinking
4. Strong cravings for alcohol
5. Regularly failing to meet responsibilities because of drinking
6. Continuing to drink despite relationship issues caused by alcohol
7. Giving up other activities to drink more
8. Using alcohol in dangerous situations more than once
9. Continuing to drink even though it causes physical or psychological problems
10. Developing a tolerance to alcohol
11. Feeling withdrawal when not drinking

One of the most important things you can do to avoid becoming an alcoholic is to manage the risk factors you can control. If you have been drinking heavily or regularly, consider cutting back. If you spend a lot of time with people who drink, find some new activities and social groups that don’t involve alcohol.

Perhaps most importantly, you can manage your risk factors related to mental health. Mental illness and addiction are strongly correlated. If you have an untreated mental illness, or even mental health issues that don’t lead to a diagnosis, it may contribute to unhealthy drinking patterns. By getting treatment for mental illness you can better manage drinking and cope with symptoms in healthier, more productive ways.

Whether or not you can drink at all depends on your individual factors. With strong awareness of the risk and an understanding of what your personal motivations are for drinking, it may be possible to drink responsibly without becoming addicted. First, understand what responsible or moderate drinking looks like, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

• No more than one drink per day, or seven per week, for women
• No more than two drinks per day, or 14 per week, for men
• With one drink defined as 12 ounces of beer, 1.5 ounces of liquor, five ounces of wine, or eight ounces of malt liquor
• Avoiding binge drinking, defined as four or more drinks for women or five or more drinks for men in one sitting

Another way to determine if you are able to drink responsibly is to look at the criteria for alcohol use disorder. If you can see yourself in two or more of those criteria often, you may be struggling to drink in a way that is moderate, safe, and responsible.