Individuals with a family history of drug addiction or alcoholism are at a greater risk for addiction themselves. While scientists have not found an "addiction gene," the genetic connection appears clear. Children of addicts or alcoholics who were adopted by another non-addict family often develop addictions, even in the absence of an addicted environment.

This may be because of other emotional disorders present in the genetics of the family line, or there may be a number of genetic factors that come together to create a tendency for addiction.

More than two thirds of the funding for alcohol and drug treatment facilities come from public sources. Private insurance pays for about 14% of services, and the patients pay for about 10%.

Children of alcoholics are said to be 4 to 8 times as likely to become alcoholics as opposed to people without family history of alcoholism. However, part of the amount of risk can be accounted for through environmental influence. Based on our current understanding, it is probable that environmental influences will be at least as important, and possibly more important, than genetic influences.

Success in uncovering the genes involved in a vulnerability to alcoholism will help researchers to recognize the potential for alcoholism in high-risk individuals, to intervene at an early stage, and to develop new treatments for alcohol-related problems. This is an area of scientific and medical research that will continue to yield important answers to the basic questions of what causes alcoholism and how we as a society can prevent and treat it.

Alcohol problems cluster in and destroy families. More than half of current drinkers have a family history of alcoholism. Three out of ten adults report that drinking has been a cause of trouble in their family.

Genes might play a direct role in the development of alcoholism, as in affecting the body's metabolism of alcohol; or they might play a less direct role, influencing a person's temperament or personality in such a way that the person becomes vulnerable to alcohol and drug abuse.

Everyone with a family history of alcoholism is at risk for developing alcohol abuse disorders, but males who are aggressive and extroverted are at the greatest risk. They will, at some point in their lives, be more likely to experiment with drugs or alcohol than someone who is introverted and socially inhibited.

Genetic researchers are engaged in identifying the genes that cause vulnerability to addiction, but the task is difficult because alcoholism is considered to be a polygenetic disorder that is related to many different genes, each of which contributes only a portion of the vulnerability.

Progress has been made in understanding genetic vulnerability toward drug addiction and alcoholism. Researchers now know that more than one gene is more than likely to be responsible for this inclination towards alcoholism or drug addiction. It's up to researchers now to determine what these genes are and whether they are specific for alcohol and drug abuse or something more general, such as differences in personality that may increase an individual's vulnerability to alcoholism and drug addiction. Researchers must also determine how genes and the environment interact to influence an individual toward alcoholism and drug addiction. Hopefully soon, a breakthrough will come, bringing about a more thorough understanding what causes alcoholism and drug addiction.

Due to the fact that nothing now can change what happened in the past, it is hoped that all of the above referenced state and federal prisoners who have engaged in drug and alcohol abuse or dependency are getting alcohol abuse rehab or addiction treatment while they are incarcerated.

Currently, the disease of alcoholism and drug addiction is still a mystery overall. The causes and conditions have still yet to be fully understood but one day, a breakthrough should come. Until that day, we will continue on our current path, helping those who suffer from the fatal disease of alcohol and drug addiction.