Alcoholism has been an issue in society
for several years. It affects many people in many different ways. There are
also many possible causes to why alcoholism occurs. I wanted to particularly
look at the relationship between alcoholism and income inequality. Income
inequality has grown over the years, it is the fact that income is distributed
unevenly amongst the population. So, this is the reason there being a separation
between the poor and rich, and also for the gap in between. I believe that some
aspects of income inequality can lead to alcohol abuse, the main aspect being those
in a state of poverty. Poverty brings along many things like stress, guilt, and
loss of pride. Many people that drink in the world would probably agree that a
lot of the times it helps cope with stress. This stress can come from simply
being too tired from working so much, or just simply not having enough money to
do the things you want. So, the inequality can lead to poverty which can
further lead to alcohol abuse. Those in poverty are not the only ones that can
abuse alcohol. The rich can also be victims of alcoholism because they have
enough money and also more time to spend experiencing alcohol. Income
inequality can also lead to decline in health. “Societies with lower income
inequality usually have better overall health than those with higher income
inequality” (Wilkinson 494). This can be because there is a smaller gap between
the people than there is a smaller margin of era and since people are closer to
being equal than they are also receiving equal treatment as well as taking
equal measures to improve their health. Poverty can also be linked to decline
in health as well. People that are considered impoverished might not have
enough money to receive proper medical assistance or information which can contribute
to illness. Research shows that income inequality is very-well connected with
health. “benefits of greater equality are spread across society is consistent with the fact that health
inequalities are not distinctions between the health of the poor and the rest
of society but form a gradient right across society” (Wilkinson 505). Income
inequality can also lead to a decline in health because of its relationship
with contributing to alcohol abuse. There was one study in 2005 that concluded
that “Logistic regression analyses showed an increase in the likelihood of
alcohol use between groups of low and high income inequality after adjustment
for sex, individual-level family affluence and country-level GDP” (Elgar,
Roberts 246). This study showed that this process starts even when kids are
younger because it was done on teens. It also showed that countries with a
poorer economy brought on more experiences with drinking. Furthermore, there
has not been much research to prove a clear connection with alcoholism and
income inequality, but from the information above we can definitely see how
income inequality can lead to alcoholism in many different ways. Since there
are many possible causes to alcoholism than there is no true way to find a
solution to this problem. I believe the only solution would be is to find a way
to better evenly distribute the wealth in which I think at this time is pretty much
impossible.
References
Elgar, F. J.,
Roberts, C., Parry-Langdon, N., & Boyce, W. (2005). Income Inequality and
Alcohol Use: A Multilevel Analysis of Drinking and Drunkenness in Adolescents
in 34 Countries. The European Journal
of Public Health, 15(3), 245-250.
Wilkinson,
R. G., & Pickett, K. E. (2009).
Income Inequality and Social Dysfunction. Annual Review of Sociology, 35,
493-511.
I like how you addressed the alcoholism concerns among those who are very wealthy and those who are not so wealthy. I think it is important to consider how alcohol is used as a means to relieve stress among all citizens. In my opinion, it is especially important to learn about the abuse among those in poverty as they do not earn as high incomes to purchase alcohol often. It seems that those in poverty use replace certain goods they may need with alcohol because they feel they need it to relieve the stress of their situations. Although it could be argued the wealthy use it for the same reasons, they have the money to purchase alcohol and the any other things they may need for a healthy lifestyle. I do agree that it seems little can be done, but I think with further awareness, people could work towards implementing positive change among those in poverty. One way perhaps could be offering guidance through stressful times, or introducing financial guidance. Often times, there is difficulty with knowing how to budget, better understanding could reduce stress as people could determine what they need to do in order to cover costs.
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