special subjects
Alcohol Use
Causes of Alcohol Use Disorder
Alcohol use disorder involves heredity to some extent. Blood relatives of people with alcohol use disorder are more likely to have alcohol use disorder than people in the general population, and alcohol use disorder is more likely to develop in biologic children of people with alcohol use disorder than in adopted children. Some research suggests that people at risk of alcohol use disorder are less easily intoxicated than people who are not problem drinkers. That is, their brains are less sensitive to the effects of alcohol. Blood relatives of people with alcohol use disorder may have this trait. Certain factors and personality traits may predispose people to alcohol use disorder. People with alcohol use disorder tend to feel isolated, lonely, shy, depressed, or hostile. They may act self-destructively. Whether such traits are the cause of alcohol use disorder or the result is not certain. 