Alcoholism in Ireland: medical and social aspects

Abstract

It is widely accepted that alcoholism is multifactonal in its causation, the factors being usually grouped under the convenient headings of social, psychological and physical, or some variant of these terms. Medical and social agencies along with research workers agree that the problem is the outcome of a three-way interaction involving the individual concerned (whether in his psychological or physical make-up), the addictive qualities of alcohol, and the social environment in which he lives, works and spends his leisure time. There is very little disagreement about this broad description of causes. There is considerable lack of consensus however about the relative weights of each category in the evolution of alcoholism. Useful reviews of competing theories of causation are provided by Gibbins and Jellmek. The purpose of this paper is to outline some of the theories which have been put forward to explain alcoholism in Ireland, to present certain statistical evidence and to make some tentative conclusions.