Nature Vs. Nurture Case Study

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Nature vs. nurture is one debate that has been argued over for hundreds, if not thousands of years. With such a hot topic on the rise, how do we know if someone’s actions are influenced more by nature, their genetic makeup, or by nurture, their upbringing? Although there were many topics for me to focus on, I chose to talk about the age old issue of alcoholism, which by far intrigued me most.
Recent studies have shown that alcoholism is an ever increasing problem. As of 2016, more than 16% of adults, 18 years or older, have been proclaimed alcoholics. It has been proven that adolescents, who drink before reaching adulthood, will never be able to develop a fully functioning brain. As if this weren’t sad enough, these same adolescents are more vulnerable to
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A study done in 2012 shows that more than 10% of kids live with an alcoholic parent. While doing research, I came upon a case study about a single mother, Cathy Rivers, and her three children. Cathy had been married to a husband, who abused her in front of her children. To cope, Cathy turned to alcohol. During this time, her husband also heavily drank. The couple’s kids were later separated by child services, and put into foster homes. Interestingly, as grown adults, two of the three kids turned to the bottle. This case study got me thinking. Obviously there are nurture factors that come into effect when dealing with alcoholism, but is it possible that there could also be a strong genetic side? In the field of psychology, nature refers to the genetic, hormonal traits that get passed down through our genes. They are the things that have