What is the etiology of alcoholism?

There are a variety of reasons. Some people drink alcoholically from the day they first try it, and for others, it is a gradual slide. Some families, even at the upper end of the socio-economic scale have a long history of alchoholism which goes back many generations, suggesting a genetic factor. Many indigenous cultures around the world have serious alcohol abuse problems, such as Australian aborigines and native Americans. It has been suggested that they are predisposed to alcohol addiction because they never had exposure to it until recently. By contrast, cultures who have made wine for thousands of years have relatively few alcoholics, and some argue that the "alcohol gene" has receded through time because its carriers have died younger and had less offspring. Alcoholism among indigenous people is also caused by hopelessness, having been displaced and their culture disrupted or destroyed by European settlement. Perhaps it is a combination of both factors. In individuals, it is often difficult to see if depression has caused them to drink, or vice versa. Both illnesses can worsen the other - in a downward spiral. A dysfunctional upbringing-especially in an alcoholic environment greatly increases alcohol abuse in later life. Alcohol abuse among teenagers is largely the result of peer pressure. Thankfully, most of them grow out of it. Recent studies have shown that alcoholics, when they drink release abnormal amounts of a brain chemical called THIQ- tetrahydroisoquinone, which causes a strong craving for more alcohol, making it very hard to stop. Cultural attitudes to alcohol vary between countries. In Brazil, Young people go to nightclubs and they dance , eat and talk, but drink moderately. Drunkeness is viewed with disdain. In Australia and Britain, getting drunk is a lot more socially acceptable, almost a rite of passage. It is also true that people in stressful jobs and occupations which can be emotionally traumatic, abuse alcohol more. Many war veterans have turned to alcohol. It seems that human beings have a unique propensity for taking mind-altering chemicals,and the intelligence to make substances like alcohol (and thousands of other drugs), to help us escape reality. It's ironic because the brain generally works at it's best in a drug- free state, and getting drunk is not an intelligent thing to do,and is destructive in so many ways.