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The first female member, Florence Rankin, joined AA in March 1937, [28] [29] and the first non-Protestant member, a Roman Catholic, joined in 1939. [30] The first black AA group commenced in 1945 in Washington D.C., and was founded by Jim S., an African-American physician from Virginia.
The causes of alcohol abuse are complex and multi-faceted. Alcohol abuse is related to economic and biological origins and is associated with adverse health consequences. [45] Peer pressure influences individuals to abuse alcohol; however, most of the influence of peers is due to inaccurate perceptions of the risks of alcohol abuse. [48]
In post-Prohibition 1930s America, it was common to perceive alcoholism as a moral failing, and the medical profession standards of the time treated it as a condition that was likely incurable and lethal. [3] Those without financial resources found help through state hospitals, the Salvation Army, or other charitable societies and religious groups.
The term "alcoholism" was split into "alcohol abuse" and "alcohol dependence" in 1980's DSM-III, and in 1987's DSM-III-R behavioral symptoms were moved from "abuse" to "dependence". [116] Some scholars suggested that DSM-5 merges alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence into a single new entry, [117] named "alcohol-use disorder". [118] DSM-5 ...
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), the first twelve-step fellowship, was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Robert Holbrook Smith, known to AA members as "Bill W." and "Dr. Bob", in Akron, Ohio. In 1946 they formally established the twelve traditions to help deal with the issues of how various groups could relate and function as membership grew.
About one-fourth of the U.S. population is a member of a family that is affected by an addictive disorder in a first-degree relative." [ 4 ] [ 8 ] As of 2001, there were an estimated 26.8 million children of alcoholics (COAs) in the United States, with as many as 11 million of them under the age of 18. [ 9 ]
Contrary to popular conception, alcoholism does not start with the first drink, but usually has a gradual onset over 5 to 15 years of continuous alcohol abuse. [43] One surprise to Vaillant was the number of men who were able to abuse alcohol for decades without becoming dependent. [44]
The Journal of the American Medical Association defines alcoholism, or alcohol use disorder, as "a primary, chronic disease characterized by impaired control over drinking, preoccupation with the drug alcohol, use of alcohol despite adverse consequences, and distortions in thinking, most notably denial."