Alcohol addiction is affected by both genetic and environmental factors. Addictions, especially dependencies to alcohol tend to run in family groups and it is known that genes play a role in that procedure. Scientific study has indicated in recent years that individuals who have/had alcoholic parents are more likely to develop the very same sickness themselves. Strangely, men have a higher tendency to alcohol addiction in this situation than females.

Individuals with reduced inhibitions are at an even greater chance for developing into problem drinkers. The two principal attributes for turning into addicted to alcohol come from having a close relative who is an alcoholic and having a high-risk disposition. An individual with a high-risk personality is one where she or he has lower inhibitions and flourishes on taking risks in nearly all scenarios. If an individual springs from a family with one or more alcoholic s and likes to take risks, they should acknowledge that they are at what is considered high risk for becoming an alcoholic .

Current studies have identified that genetic makeup performs a vital function in the advancement of alcohol addiction but the precise genes or inherited pathways to dependency have not been discovered. At this time, it is believed that the familial predilection towards alcoholism in an individual does not ensure that he or she will develop into an alcoholic but instead just indicates that those people feel the effects of the alcohol more powerfully and quickly. In impact, the decision of hereditary chance is just a decision of higher risk toward the addiction and not always a sign of future alcoholism.

There was a gene discovered in 1990 called the DRD2 gene. This is the first gene that has been shown to have any link towards affecting the outcome of alcoholism in humans. Once again, thinking about the way this particular gene works, the person with the DRD2 gene would be thought to have a higher pull towards the effects of alcohol compared to someone without the gene but having DRD2 does not guarantee alcohol addiction in the person.


When they are adolescents, the urgent desire to identify a gene accountable for alcoholism is due in part to the urgent requirement to help ascertain people who are at high risk. It is thought that this might prevent them from developing into alcoholics to begin with. It has been proven that these individuals should not ever take their very first drink of alcohol but with kids drinking alcohol at younger and younger ages it is not often possible to stop them prior to learning about their inherited tendency toward alcoholism. If this can be ascertained at an early age and children raised to comprehend that taking that first drink for them might very likely dispatch them eventually to alcoholism, it may reduce the amount of alcoholics in the future.

Regardless of a hereditary predilection toward alcoholism, it is still a conscious decision to choose to drink and to get drunk. It has been stated that the person with the inherited predisposition to alcoholism is an alcoholic at birth whether or not he or she ever takes a drink.

Modern studies have ascertained that genetic makeup performs an important function in the development of alcoholism but the inherited pathways or specific genes to addiction have not been discovered. At this time, it is thought that the genetic predilection toward alcoholism in a person does not ensure that he or she will turn into an alcoholic but instead simply indicates that those individuals feel the impacts of the alcohol more intensely and rapidly. Once again, keeping in mind the way this specific gene works, the individual with the DRD2 gene would be thought to have a higher pull for the effects of alcohol compared to somebody without the gene but having DRD2 does not guarantee alcoholism in the person.

The immediate desire to spot a gene responsible for alcohol addiction is due in part to the urgent need to assist determine people who are at high chance when they are adolescents.