Functionalist Perspective

The functionalist perspective argue that society provides us with norms or guidelines (Leon-Guerrero 2014). There can be shown a difference of the way people expect to behave when drinking. According to Caetano, Clark, and Tam, people who lack norms to control their behavior, they are likely to purse self-destructive behaviors such as alcohol abuse (Leon-Guerrero 2014). For instance, doctors warn about the dangers of alcohol use and even advertisers promote the use of alcohol and the affects. Yet we still drink no matter what the causes are. “Functionalist explore how substance use and abuse are necessitated by a social system and what they offer to the functional operation” (Shaw 2002).

The conflict perspective focuses on the conflict

Interactionists look at the meaning and signs behind behaviors. In this case, the meaning behind alcohol abuse. Being taught how alcohol is bad for you when younger. Now growing older, we see it everywhere in society. Which can change our perspective on alcohol. “Malcolm and Antell (2001) argue that alcohol abuse and its related problems are not entirely objective phenomena; they also involve interpretation and stigmatization of deviant behavior” (Leon-Guerrero 2014). This could be because we view our older siblings, parents, and friends drinking and changes our perspective. For example, drinking is seen in media like music videos, television commercials and reality shows. This attracts the adolescents thinking drinking is a cool thing to do. For instance, during high school if you drink, you would be socially accepted but if you don’t then you can be considered an outcast. Society and media has a lot to do with this for adolescents who want to be drinking at a young

Twelve steps can be another treatment for alcoholics to overcome their denial about having no self-control over alcohol. Counseling is also another option. Talking to someone about their alcohol addiction could help that person. “One study reported that the main reasons alcoholics do not seek treatment are lack of confidence in successful therapies, denial of their own alcoholism, and the social stigma attached to the condition and its treatment” (Torr 2000). The purposes for these treatments are for those who have alcohol problems to help them become sober and overcome this problem. Like I mentioned, the twelve steps are used to reach for recovery which are; Step 1 admitting they are powerless over alcohol, Step 2 Believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity, Step 3 made a decision to turn to our will and lives over to the care of God, Step 4 made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves, Step 5 admitted to God, ourselves, and another human being of our wrongs, Step 6 were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character, Step 7 humbly ask him to remove our shortcomings, Step 8 list all persons we harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all, Step 9 direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others, Step 10 continue to take personal inventory and when were wrong promptly admit it,