…Research on the inheritance of alcoholism has exploded since the 1970’s. The first , and still the best-known,research of this kind was conducted by D.Goodwich and his associates with Danish adoptees.They found that 18 percent of male adoptees with biological parents who were alcoholic became alcoholic themselves,compared with only 5 percent of male adoptees whose biological parents were not alcoholic. Taken the face value, this is probably the strongest evidence of the genetic inheritance of alcoholism in all the research on the subject .Yet it shows that the great majority (82%0 of men with alcoholic fathers do not become alcoholic solely by biological inheritance-that is ,when they are not directly exposed to their father’s influence.
This research shows that whatever genetic inheritance predisposes a man to alcoholism has only a weak link with the actual behavior that we call alcoholism.But the Goodwin research has an even more surprising message for daughters of alcoholics.Daughters who were raised away from alcoholic parents did not become alcoholic more often than female adoptees who did have alcoholic parents.To accept the Goodwin research, the research that established in many people’s minds that there is a genetic source of alcoholism, is to reject the idea that woman can inherit alcoholism!!!Other research confirms that alcoholism in women is hard to trace to genetic origins.But this raises an important question - if alcoholism is supposedly inherited, why is it only typed to one sex ?

We frequently hear from people say.
” I drink too much sometimes,but i don’t think i’m an alcoholic.And i don’t want to stand up and talk about myself i front of a group.Is there any other way i can change the way i drink “
” I’m overweight ,but i understand that people are born to be fat and there’s not much you can do about it.I know , I’ve tried to lose weight a million times and failed.Does this mean i’m doomed,overweight .”
” My son was caught smoking marijuana . I was told that i have to put him in a expensive treatment program .If i have to save his life i’ll do what i have to.”

People are much concerned about bad habits that they’d like to do something about-drinking , smoking, overeating,taking drugs,gambling,overspending or even compulsive romancing.We hear more and more that every one of these things is a disease,and that we must go to treatment centers or join twelve-step support groups like AA in order to change a powerful habit than to enter treatment for a disease? Do personal initiative ,willpower , or just maturing and developing a more rewarding life have anything to do with people’s ability to overcome addictive habits .?

As children , as spouses ,as parents …. we must struggle to understand and master the destructive potential of drugs ,alcohol and related addictions . The kinds of questions so many people face today include: what do we do if we discover our children are smoking pot or worse? Should we put them in a treatment center that will teach them are chemically dependent for life? How can we tell if co-workers,friends or employees are secretly addicts of something wrong like drugs? What is the most appropriate way to react to people who drink too much or do anything that harms themselves and others.?