PREVENTING ALCOHOLISM
The prevention of alcoholism has become a major concern of leaders in government, business, education, the military, and the church. Parent groups, service clubs, schools, medical and counseling professionals, media people, and a number of others recognize the importance of vigorous, long-term efforts aimed at changing public attitudes toward alcohol and other drugs. The National Council on Alcoholism, the federal Department of Education, the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and similar agencies have been joined, surprisingly perhaps, by the alcohol industry which has initiated TIPS (Training for Intervention Procedures by Servers of Alcohol), a program designed to educate bartenders, waitresses, and others who serve drinks. Despite these efforts, we still know more about treatment than about prevention. Even so, several preventive guidelines are likely to be helpful.
I. Stimulate a Healthy Home Life. Like most of the other issues discussed in this book, the prevention of alcoholism and other drug abuse begins in the home. When children are respected, loved, disciplined, and raised by sensitive, concerned, stable parents, there is greater opportunity for healthy maturing and less likelihood of chemical dependence. When emotional needs are met in the home, when children are helped to cope with stress, and when they are taught a clear set of values, there is a greater sense of security and self-esteem, accompanied by a greater ability to handle the problems of life without drugs.
In a major book on alcoholism, one Christian writer reports that parental example is the most influential issue in determining whether or not children will develop alcoholism or other chemical dependencies. When parents drink regularly, children learn to do the same. When parents rigidly prohibit and vehemently condemn the use of alcohol, children often react by experimenting with alcohol. A more effective approach is an open attitude about alcohol, recognition of its dangers, an encouragement of moderation if not abstinence, and an example of parents who enjoy life without having to rely on alcohol to meet their problems or to enjoy fellowship with others.
It is well known that many homes do not fit this description. Children of alcoholics, for example, often live in families where there is inconsistent or inadequate parenting, frequently accompanied by denial of the reality and influence of alcohol abuse. As we have seen, many of these children feel confused, angry, guilty, afraid, unloved, and ill-equipped to face the demands of adult life. Some have no models of healthy adulthood. Research suggests that many of these young people suspect that they too will inevitably become alcoholics. If this is to be avoided, the children of alcoholics need special encouragement and guidance from caring adults outside the home.
Shouldn't that caring come from the church?
2. Instill a Healthy Religious Faith. One survey of 5,648 university students revealed that habitual churchgoers and those who have a strong religious faith "are far less likely to be taking drugs than classmates who are shifting church affiliations in their search for the divine. And . . . drug use was highest among those for whom there was no spiritual search at all. These conclusions about drug abuse in general may not apply to alcoholism specifically, and from this survey it does not follow that faith in God prevents alcoholism. Yet Christian counselors are aware that when one is filled with the Spirit, there is less likelihood or need of one being drunk with wine.
3. Provide Education on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse. It is true that those who never take a drink will never become alcoholics. Emotional pleas for abstinence, however, rarely convince or influence people who are pressured by peers or by curiosity about the effects of alcohol. Neither is it helpful to ignore the subject of alcoholism on the assumption that discussion will arouse experimentation. When alcohol abuse is considered in a frank, open discussion, this weakens the temptation to dabble with a dangerous drug, even when that drug is presented on television and elsewhere as a jovial and harmless way to relax.
Preventive education should
(a) begin early, since most alcoholics start their long decline in the teenage years or sooner,
(b) present accurate facts concerning the nature and effects of alcohol,
(c) avoid emotional appeals that involve scare tactics but little factual information,
(d) clearly discuss the biblical teachings about wine and drunkenness,
(e) make young people aware of why people drink,
(f) discuss how one can say no in an environment where one's peers may all be drinking,
(g) encourage people to make a decision (to drink or not to drink) instead of drifting into the habit,
(h) encourage abstinence as the best and most effective means of prevention, describe the warning signs that indicate developing addiction, and alert people to the availability, place, and nature of help for those with developing drinking problems.
4. Teach People How to Cope with Life. If we can assume that alcoholism and other misuse of drugs often reflect a failure in coping, then one approach to prevention is teaching people to openly face, discuss, and deal with the stress-related problems of life. "The key to prevention," concludes one report, "is to reduce exposure to stress where you can and to teach healthy means of coping with stress that can't be eliminated.
CONCLUSIONS ABOUT ALCOHOLISM
Every New Year's Eve the county courthouse in Northampton, Massachusetts, is transformed into a nightclub and becomes the scene of a party that has the blessings of the presiding judge. The partygoers invariably have a good time despite the complete absence of alcohol. Police officers drop by on breaks from duty, and many of the revelers volunteer to give rides home for people from other parties where abstinence is not practiced. The judge is pleased because people at the courthouse party won't appear later in his court for New Year's drunkenness, and the courthouse usually ends up cleaner the day after the bash than it was the day before.
When this story appeared in newspapers across the country, I wonder how many readers responded with criticism or cynicism. Theologian Reinhold Niebuhr once wrote that it is "no easy task to deal realistically with the moral confusion of our day, either in the pulpit or the pew and avoid the appearance, and possibly the actual peril, of cynicism. Helping people face the reality and dangers of alcoholism can seem like an exercise in frustration and futility. One academic administrator described alcohol abuse as a blend of emotion, tragedy, personalities, complexity, desire, and lack of control. Add the competition between different community and governmental agencies, the heavy advertising of the alcohol industry, and the sometimes conflicting conclusions of researchers and other specialists, and we can understand why some describe the battle against alcoholism as an experience of taking two steps backward for every three steps forward.
We believe that becoming a member of the Christ Centered Addictions Specialists Network you will be able to impact you church and your community as we seek to prevent alcoholism and substance abuse.
Points of Interest
1. Despite the well-intentioned efforts of many groups, we still know more about the treatment of alcoholism than the prevention of alcoholism. 2. Helping people to face the reality and dangers of alcoholism can seem like an exercise in frustration and futility.
3. The counselor must depend on the Holy Spirit’s guidance to determine when and how to present the Gospel.
4. Begin early because most alcoholics start their long decline in the teenage years or sooner.
5. Children of alcoholics often live in families where there is inconsistent or inadequate parenting, frequently accompanied by denial of the harsh reality and influence of alcohol abuse
Congratulations! You have completed Module 2 Alcoholism and Substance Abuse. In lesson 6 we will review Module 2 and prepare to take the Module 2 Exam.
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