Meanings regarding the use of alcohol in families of a venezuelan poor community

Carlos Onorio Castillo,Maria Cristina Silva Costa

doi:10.1590/s0104-11692008000700006

Carlos Onorio Castillo, Maria Cristina Silva Costa

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1590/s0104-11692008000700006

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Abstract

This study is the result of an ethnographic research based on interpretative anthropology. It aims to interpret the meanings of alcohol misuse in families from a poor Venezuelan community. Twenty members from six families participated in the study. The results show differences between meanings children and parents held regarding alcohol consumption. Children held a more positive view, whereas mothers presented the lowest acceptation of alcohol consumption. Meanings were more convergent than divergent, which allowed the identification of the following units: excessive consumption, intoxication, and joy. The association of alcohol with parties and joy is the main motivation to drink and the main barrier to change drinking habits. Two units of meaning were identified: a continuum between normal and pathologic drinking; and concept of joy subordinated to alcohol consumption.

Highlights

Over the last decades, no country remained unaffected by the serious problems caused by the improper use of drugs, among them, alcohol
In 1995, the World Health Organization recognized that this disease had to do with psychological problems: “Alcoholics are people who drink excessively and whose dependence with regard to alcohol has reached a certain degree that determines the appearance of visible mental disorders, or a certain influence on their physical and mental health, interpersonal relationships, and in the adequate social and economical operations”(4)
The meanings attributed to alcohol misuse, from the fathers’, mothers’ and children’s viewpoints, indicate that it is not conceived as primordial; the abuse damages one’s physical integrity, it is a vice, a disease, and there is excessive misuse among youths

Summary

Introduction

No country remained unaffected by the serious problems caused by the improper use of drugs, among them, alcohol. The alcohol-consuming population has increased and consumption is starting at a younger age. In the United States, at least 9 million adults are subject to the alcohol problem[1]. Since the mid 19th century, alcoholism has been considered a disease and has become an object of medical studies[3]. In 1995, the World Health Organization recognized that this disease had to do with psychological problems: “Alcoholics are people who drink excessively and whose dependence with regard to alcohol has reached a certain degree that determines the appearance of visible mental disorders, or a certain influence on their physical and mental health, interpersonal relationships, and in the adequate social and economical operations”(4)

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Conclusion