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Why Baha’is Don’t Drink Alcohol – A Social Perspective

November 5, 2012, in Articles > Baha'i Life, by

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post on Baha’i Blog called Why Baha’is Don’t Drink Alcohol – A Medical Perspective, and there was a great response with a lot of really great feedback. As the title suggested, my purpose in that article was to focus on the medical effects of alcohol consumption, but now as a result of all the feedback, I thought it would be interesting to write a follow-up to the article covering the social effects of alcohol. In this post I’m going to focus on criminal behavior, as well as the social effects on the individual, family and society.

Before delving into the various social detrimental consequences of alcohol use and the criminality associated with it, let’s first look at how alcohol affects human behavior, as it is the behavior which has a negative impact on society. A reminder however that this subject is vast, and for the purposes of this article I will try to keep things as to the point as possible, therefore focusing on those behavior’s which have the most impact: aggression and lack of judgment.

Psychological Effects of Alcohol Related Aggression

There are a few ways in which alcohol is thought to affect behaviour and specifically aggressive behaviour, so I’ve outlined these theories below:

  • Alcohol anaesthetises the center of the brain that normally would inhibit aggressive responding, thus leading to disinhibition and increased likelihood of aggressive behavior.
  • Alcohol also facilitates aggression indirectly by causing changes in cognitive, emotional and physiological processes that increase the probability of aggression. For instance impaired intellectual functioning, poor risk assessment, reduced awareness, change in arousal levels, and increased emotional lability.
  • Certain motives lead people to drink and these motives interact with alcohol to facilitate aggression. The two motives described by Horton in 1943 and McClelland et al in 1972 respectively, are anxiety reduction, and power concerns. They described that there is a positive relation between the strength of anxiety drive motivating the alcohol consumption, and the strength of the aggression response. Also, that thoughts of personal power that accompany alcohol consumption can be manifested as aggression.
  • Situational factors, Berkowitz in 1983 suggested  that crowded, noisy , smoky , and provocative environments  can stimulate a human negatively and facilitate aggression.

(Reference :Effects of Alcohol on Human Aggression and Integrative Research Review. Brad Bushman and Harris Cooper Psychological Bulletin 1990. 107;3:341-354.)

Psychological Effects of Alcohol Causing Lack of Judgment

It has been said that the qualities that differentiate a human being from some other animals are due to the frontal lobe function of the brain. It is widely accepted that alcohol causes damage to the frontal lobe thus affecting its function as well as other areas (confirmed with CT and PET scanning), and some symptoms that are consistent with frontal lobe dysfunction include planning of future actions, problem solving, impulsivity, disinhibition, and decision making.

The mechanisms behind, and evidence for this subject are vast and would need an author much cleverer than I to write a book about it, but as you can see that there are psychological as well as physiological effects that one needs to consider when thinking about how alcohol affects behavior.

Hopefully the above can help us understand how alcohol can cause the behaviour changes that then lead to criminal behaviour, for example aggression, impulsiveness and disinhibition are all behaviours linked to crime. Now let’s touch on the extent of the problem of criminality by sharing some statistics relating to alcohol use and crime.

Common Crimes Associated with Alcohol

Homicide

According to the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC), 47% of all homicides in Australia between 2000-2006 were alcohol related.

The AIC also made the following points

  • Homicides occurring on weekends and in the hours between 6pm and 6am are more likely to involve alcohol.
  • Homicides in recreational settings are more likely to involve alcohol, although those incidents that occur in residential locations or on the street account for a greater proportion of alcohol-related homicides.
  • Alcohol is most frequently associated with those deaths involving physical altercations, blunt force injuries and stab wounds.

Violent Crime

I found the following statistics on the US National Partnership on Alcohol Misuse and Crime website:

  • 5.3 million adults − 36% of those under correctional supervision at the time − were drinking at the time of their convicted offense.
  • 40% of state prisoners convicted of violent crimes were under the influence of alcohol at the time of their offense − the more violent  the crime, the greater the likelihood that alcohol was involved.

Domestic Violence, Child Abuse and Neglect

Alcohol is also an important risk factor for both domestic violence and child abuse and neglect. Research has shown that the excessive consumption or misuse of alcohol is associated with poor quality or inconsistent parenting, which can lead to a child experiencing a range of emotional or psychological problems (Dawe, Harnett & Frye 2008). Children whose parent (or parents) misuse or abuse alcohol are also more likely to be subjected to various forms of physical and verbal abuse (Dube et al 2001). Victims of child abuse (particularly physical abuse) and neglect are more likely to offend later in life, with research suggesting a direct causal link between child maltreatment and juvenile offenders, including violent offending (Stewart, Dennison & Waterson 2002).

Driving While Under the Influence of Alcohol (DUI)

  • Nearly 13,000 people are killed each year on U.S. roads in alcohol-related accidents.
  • 25% of all drivers and motorcyclists killed on the state of Victoria’s roads in Australia over the last year were under the influence of alcohol. (TAC website Australia).
  • In the United Kingdom, 4% of road fatalities in 2010 were caused by drink driving (UK Drink Driving Government website).

Social Effects of Alcohol on the Individual, Family, and Society

This is again a huge topic, and I won’t attempt to cover everything here but I simply want to put together a few points to illustrate how wide reaching the detrimental effects of alcohol can be, as well as how one negative impact leads to the next in a ‘knock on’ effect.

According to Childline UK ,young people calling worried about unprotected sexual intercourse say that alcohol played a part in their decision making. In Norway, research indicates that young people are less likely to use contraception when moderately intoxicated and far less likely to use it when strongly intoxicated. Teenage pregnancy can then have effects on the ability of a child to complete their education, go onto higher education/training and secure employment. Of course this isn’t the case for everybody, but you get the idea.

As mentioned earlier, alcohol use is linked to child abuse and neglect as well as domestic violence, and as mentioned this can have a ‘knock on’ effect on those children when they become adults. Lack of emotional development in a child due to abuse and/or neglect will affect that child’s ability to form their own relationships and can lead to mental health problems such as depression.

Even for adults who have had a wonderful upbringing, alcohol can affect their behaviour to the degree that one mistake could ruin their future, for instance drink driving and killing a person, resulting in possible prison sentence and criminal record, not to mention the psychological scars it leaves behind.

We can see that alcohol can have negative effects not only on a persons physical health, but on their behaviour as well. The behaviours described here – especially those that relate to crime – affect not only the perpetrator, their family, and the society that has to respond to their crimes, but also the victims and their families.

Perhaps when alcohol is no longer such an influential part of a lot of our cultures, or better yet when individuals don’t feel the need to consume it, we can all look forward to a much brighter future.

Posted by

Roya

When she isn't pretending to be Dr. Karl Kennedy (her hero) she enjoys chasing after the sun, cooking, eating and telling everyone she’s going to start being healthy by playing tennis. Roya loves to know what’s going on in all parts of the globe (to aid in her hobby of chasing the sun), so she's really excited to manage Baha'i Blog's Events Calendar.
Roya

Discussion 8 Comments

A well-written article! A forensic doctor in melbourne once commented that without alcohol, he would most definitely be out of a job. The psychological consequences of family violence is far reaching. Also, the irony of it all is that most Australians have their first drink as a young teenager at home, given to them by their parent in the hopes of encouraging good drinking habits. This myth has now been thoroughly disproven but remain widely believed in australian society.

Joonwin

Joonwin (November 11, 2012 at 7:55 AM)

There are a vast number of resources now in cyberspace on the Baha’i Faith. Many sites, some organized by Baha’is with Baha’i perspectives, and some organized by others with similar concerns, are now on the net and they deal with the vast array of social and individual problems of which alcohol is but one. The above article will certainly be a useful addition to what is currently available on this subject already. The Baha’i Faith has a significant presence among the 400 million websites and 2 billion users.

I usually define myself as an activist journalist, by which I mean a journalist who is embedded in movements for social change of which the Baha’i Faith is but one. I identify with the movements I write about. I’m not a propagandist for those movements; I’m committed to the truth, I’m committed to fact-checking. But I’m proud to be associated with these movements and aligned with these movements. I’m a writer & author, a poet & publisher, an editor & researcher, an online blogger and online journalist. Go to this link at my website for more information: http://www.ronpriceepoch.com/Journalism.html

RonPrice

RonPrice (November 11, 2012 at 9:31 PM)

Its interesting that regardless of the fact that these statistics are published in authoritative sources such as medical journals and the like, and widely available and basically ALL point to the same detrimental effects regarding the consumption of alcohol, yet they are not cited by our policy makers as they grapple with the problems of endemic binge drinking that’s prevalent in our society and detroying the lives of our young people within Australia.

People – VOTE WITH YOUR FEET! “To Alcohol, Australians say NO!”

Sima

Sima (November 11, 2012 at 11:15 PM)

This moving story is one of many which puts a human face on the terrible statistics of drunk driving:http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/11/girl-paralyzed-by-drunk-driver-leaves-jury-in-tears/

Peter

Peter (November 11, 2012 at 12:04 PM)

Dying to see some reviews of this, looks really interesting, never seen anything quite like it!
<a href="www.medicineinanswers.com/what-are-the-effects-of-alcohol-consumption http://www.medicineinanswers.com/what-are-the-effects-of-alcohol-consumption

shafiq

shafiq (December 12, 2012 at 11:27 AM)

Thanks for your comments and links everyone!

Roya

Roya (December 12, 2012 at 7:11 AM)

My personal view is that Alcohol consumption makes it almost impossible for young, unmarried Bahá’ís to live up to the teachings on chastity, which are critically important to the success of Bahá’í family life and community.

But there are many good reasons why Bahá’ís must not drink alcohol.

Thanks for writing this blog and this particular post!

light upon light

light upon light (February 2, 2013 at 7:42 PM)

You said in the previous post that only a “minority” of people who drink can limit themselves to one glass of wine. Maybe in your college dorm, but that is not my experience. Again, your fundamentalism is probably tempered with lack of experience, you probably never have had any experience with alcohol. People tend to disparage what they fear and have no experience with. Personally, I do think cannabis is a safer drug than alcohol in regard to function and judgement but, again, you have a poor and pessimistic view of the ability of mature adults to use alcohol responsibly.

Alcohol is a common part of the fabric and culture of America. We found that prohibition was impossible. America’s First President and Founding Father, George Washington, produced and sold 11,000 gals of rye whisky.

Of course it can be abused, like food or video games. My perspective is that your position smacks of fundamentalism and naivete. This is America. What other cultures ban alcohol? Fundamentalist Muslim theocracies. Do you want to follow their example?

I rarely drink alcohol, never regularly, or excessive. But I do like the affects in moderation on occasion, and I’m willing to bet, I’m probably healthier than you are.

William

William (August 8, 2013 at 9:20 PM)

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