A possible research topic I am interested in pursuing for my STEM seminar is alcoholism in adults. This research topic would allow me to focus on psychiatry and addiction medicine but the topic of alcoholism in the elderly and older adults would allow me to broaden my horizon in the effects of alcohol on the body in different age groups. I want to focus on alcoholism and how it affects older adults and their bodies. Alcoholism is defined as an addiction to the consumption of alcoholic liquor or the mental illness and compulsive behavior resulting from alcohol dependency. In older adults/ aging adults bodies, the tolerance for alcohol decreases and older people generally experience the effects of alcohol more quickly which puts them at risk for falls, car accidents, and other injuries that result form drinking. The elderly and older aged men and women are considered to be alcoholics if they have three or more drinks a day or seven drinks a week. Over time, drinking too much in the elderly or older aged people changes the normal balance of chemicals and nerve tracks in your brain associated with judgement and control over your behavior . Alcoholism is typically thought of have to have affected middle aged adult but people fail to recognize how it affects the elderly and their aged bodies and brains. Alcoholism in adults has been proven to cause a link in alcoholism in the parent's children. Alcohol dependence/ abuse in parents has been shown to cause alcohol abuse in their children during their teenage years. Degree of exposure to alcohol in your family environment was shown to to be highly related to later life alcohol use, alcoholism, time in jail, and sociopathy. We need to cure and prevent alcoholism in all age so we can reduce its domino effect on America's future. I hope that through this project people begin to realize that no matter how old or young someone is , alcohol can take over someone;s life at any time. Health care professionals are starting to research and perform clinical trials to try and cure and prevent alcoholism, and I hope to be part of that some day.
The British Journal of Psychiatry. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2014.
<http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/149/5/584.short>.
The British Journal of Psychiatry. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2014.
<http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/149/5/584.short>.