Alcoholism:
The Health and Social Consequences of Alcohol Use
by Cecilia M. Schmitz and Richard A. Gray
The authors of Alcoholism: The Health and Social Consequences
of Alcohol Use, set four primary tasks for themselves:
- Their first task was to define alcoholism and show that it is
a primary, chronic, often progressive, and often fatal disease.
- Their second task was to marshal the biomedical evidence from
books and articles relating to alcohol as an addicting drug and
alcoholism as a disease.
- The third task was to follow the subject through all of its
manifold ramifications, including biomedical, genetic,
psychological, sociological, and religious.
- The fourth task was to study the effects of alcohol on women,
workers, lesbians, gays, Native Americans, African Americans, and
other minorities.
Furthermore, Gray and Schmitz were concerned with other
important issues, among which are:
- the effects of alcohol on the organism and disease
processes;
- alcohol-impaired driving;
- family members and co-dependency;
- peer and family influences;
- Alcoholics Anonymous and other treatment programs; and
- moderate drinking.
Gray has written an informative introduction to Alcoholism:
The Health and Social Consequences of Alcohol Use. This
introduction is a road map to the important issues associated with
the effects of alcohol, alcohol use, and alcoholism. Gray has
included Web addresses where pertinent and information on health
benefits where medically supported. The introduction covers, but is
not limited to:
- What Is Alcoholism?
- How Is Alcoholism Treated?
- Primary Effects of Alcohol on the Mind and Body
- Complications and Compounding Diseases
- Alcohol, Violence, and Aggression
- Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Effect
- Psychology and Sociology of Alcoholism
With respect to defining alcoholism (see first task -- above),
Gray states: "By `primary,' we mean that it can, and often does,
exist alone, without being derivative from other disease processes
such as depression or schizophrenia. It therefore must be treated
as a separate disease entity. By `chronic,' we mean that it is
continuing, not episodic or intermittent. By `often progressive' we
mean that it can, and often does, incrementally worsen over time;
and by calling it `fatal,' we mean only that it can result in the
death of the affected alcoholic."
Readers of Gray's introduction will gain a solid background for
understanding this complex topic -- and the extended discussions,
which follow.
Following Gray's introduction, Schmitz has provided extended
annotations of the most important popular and scientific
English-language literature appearing in the 1990s on alcoholism --
annotations extending over 400 pages. Schmitz even includes
summaries of numerous full-length monographs.
Schmitz has marshaled the biomedical evidence relating to
alcohol as an addicting drug and alcoholism as a disease -- and has
vigorously pursued her subject through biomedical, genetic,
psychological, sociological, and even religious aspects.
Alcoholism: The Health and Social Consequences of Alcohol
Use provides detailed information from over 100 books and major
articles dealing with alcohol, its effects, and alcoholism.
The authors aid their readers by dividing this research tool into
9 chapters and appropriate sub-headings. A detailed table of
contents, subject index, title index, author index, and appendix
are also provided.
The appendix is a directory of approximately 40 organizations
and agencies dealing with alcoholism and recovery. This directory
contains Web site addresses where available, but also contains many
organizations and agencies that did not have Web sites at the time
the directory was compiled.
Alcoholism: The Health and Social Consequences of Alcohol
Use will make a significant contribution to libraries whose
patrons are college students, faculty, and administrators; high
school and intermediate school students and teachers; librarians;
researchers; politicians and political advisors; debate clubs;
special interest organizations; corporations and government
agencies; and other individuals who are concerned with the use and
abuse of alcohol.
Cecilia M. Schmitz is with Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama.
Richard A. Gray is senior editor at Pierian Press.
Ordering Information
- Science and Social Responsibility Series, No. 3
- ISBN 0-87650-355-5
- 6 x 9, 462p, paper, 1998, $40.00
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