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KMID : 0381219770090040009
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Journal of RIMSK
1977 Volume.9 No. 4 p.9 ~ p.34
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The Socio-Psychiatric Research on the Young Alcoholics in Korea
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Abstract
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Who drinks? Who doesn´t drink? Who drink too much? Who can not stop once started drink-ing? Why young people begin drinking, where its dangers live, how to recognize excessive drinking and what factors are the most potent variables influencing young people to drink alcohol? Reviewing the sparse literature on drinking and young ´people, we could find neither descriptive data answering these questions nor good theory from which the answers might be deduced. In spite of various trials to reveal the relationship between drinking and health or delinquent behavior, there is no known method for breaking the habits of drinking which has had anything more than narrow short range success. Since the greatest weapon -against alcoholism is knowledge and recognition of the truth, knowledge about alcohol is the best safeguard against it. One parents should understand is just why people drink. One of the first things both young people and parents should understand is just why people drink.
Therefore we have made a first attempt at delineating alcohol drinking and young people. This survey was investigated for young alcoholics, ages from 12-through 30, on a nationwide survey covering city, town, fishing and farming areas from Jan. 1976 to June 1977.
The 379 cases of Korean young drinkers consisted of 199 male and 180 female subject selected for this study. The data’s were obtained by questionnaire survey and face to face interviews, conducted by trained professional interviewers including psychatrists, psychiatric social workers, psychiatric nurse and KARL (Korea Adolescent Research Institute, Chung Ang University) researchers.
In this study, it was attempted to reveal the characteristic clinical pictures of 250 cases of young alcoholics and 129 cases of young social drinkers in Korea as to the environmental factors such as their family structure, family psychology and family illness history, personal identifying data’s, personal psychological status such as premorbid personality, various adjustment in life situations, motivation of drinking, attitude toward drinking, and behavioral factors such as the ordinary problem drinking. The results of this research were as follows:
1. It was revealed that 66. 0% of 379 cases of Korean young drinkers were categorized as alcoholics according to Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test and Korean Alcoholism Screening Test, and the rest of them (34.0%) as social drinkers.
2. The most potent fifteen major criteria for the diagnosis of alcoholism in Korean young people, by contingency coefficient rate, is the frequently episode of alcoholic intoxication, liver trouble due to drinking, lesser amount of drinking, episode of alcoholic blackout, worrying about drinking by family members, morning drinking, trouble with lovers or espouse due to drinking, loss of lovers or spouse due to drinking, neglect of obligation at work due to drinking, legal offence due -to overdrinking, episode of fighting when drinking, episode of alcoholic hangover, current cigarette smoking, and overdrinking, due to relieve intrapsychic conflict.
3. The Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test showed itself to be an inexpensive and accurate device for mass patient screening for alcoholism in Korea and can be an asset to the individual. psychiatrist in patient evaluation.
4. For the diagnostic criteria of alcoholism, it was revealed that there is a positive relationship -with the frequency of alcoholic intoxication (49. 6% of alcoholics and 6.2% of social drinkers) and negative relationship with the amount of drinking (35.6% of alcoholics and 70.5% of social. drinkers).
5. For the psychodynamic explanation of the development of alcoholism, most significant others -is "mothering ones", and motivational factors of the overdrinking are closely related with "loss of mothering figure" by maternal absence or maternal history of the psychiatric illness including depression or psychoses. But family illness history of alcoholism is not statistically significance in our research, and these data’s are contrast with previous articles for the adult alcoholics by Winokur, Rimmer, or Lee, insisting upon alcoholics as a familial disease. In these survey, it was revealed that the family dynamics of alcoholism supposed to be more important causative factors to develop-alcoholism than geneto-constitutional factors.
6. When asked why young people begin drinking? Korean young alcoholics answered that 29.2 of them drink to enjoy good companionship; 25. 2% to relieve intra-psychic conflict, 8.0% to .relieve intrafamilial stress, etc but . social drinkers answered that 39.5% of them drink to enjoy good companionship, 9.3% to relieve intra-psychic conflict, 2.3% to relieve intrafamilial stress, etc. From this result, it was revealed that the young alcoholics believed a alcohol as psychological. crutch comparing with social drinkers.
7. As to the adjustment in life situation of the alcoholics, they showed more difficulties in their familial(12.8%) and vocational life (11. 2%) as well as in the other interpersonal relation ships.
8. Since with others (10.0%) comparing with social drinkers as 7.0%. 5.4%, and 3.9%. alcoholic habits are same psychodynamic source with smoking habits as oral conflict, the alcoholics - smoke more than social drinkers as 43.2% and 26.4%.
9. For the analysis of personal identifying data’s, the young alcoholics show the following characteristics such as lower socio-economical status, lower educational level, blue collar employer, masculine hobbies including enjoying sports or drinking, and an unbeliever comparing with social drinkers.
10. Majority of young alcoholics commit many untoward effect because of drinking including the interpersonal, vocational, attitudinal, behavioral, physiological, physical and psychological consequences.
A. Interpersonal untoward effects;
-Trouble with spouse or lover by drinking 022.0%)
-Heterosexual difficulties (10.8%)
-Loss of spouse or lover by drinking (8.8%)
-Marital disruption (7.6%)
B. Vocational untoward effects;
-Neglect obligation at work by drinking (20.4%)
-Trouble at work due to drinking (16.0%)
-Vocational difficulties (11.2%)
-Alcoholic indulgence to relieve vocational stress C 5.2%)
C. Attitudinal untoward effects;
-Bad feeling about drinking (1.5%)
-Trying to limit drinking (41.3%)
-Alignment toward anti-drinking campaign (6.0%)
D. Behavioral untoward effects;
-Fighting when drinking (28.4%)
-Drinking before noon (27.6%) Episode-of alcoholic hangover (17.6%)
-Legal offence due to overdrinking (14.4%)
-Arrest for drunken driving (13.2%)
E. Physiological untoward effects;
-Episode of alcoholic blackout (32.8%)
-Liver trouble due to drinking (31.2%)
-Episode of delirium tremens (10.0%)
F. Psychological untoward effects;
-Worrying about drinking by family-members (36.8%)
-Going to anyone for help about their drinking by oneself (20.8%)
-Going to anyone for help about their drinking by family members (12.0%)
-Going to counselors due to drinking (4.0%)
-Going to hospital due to drinking (13.6%)
-Psychiatric hospitalization due to drinking (8.4%)
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