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:
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A.
Excessive drinking for the drug effect.
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B.
Excessive drinking for psychodynamic reasons
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C.
Excess drinking and environmental influences
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D.
Failure in controls
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E.
Genetic influences
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F.
Excessive Drinking as a circular process
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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