Beginning of Essay
The kind of clear-cut model of the genetic sources of alcoholism perceived by the public and presented in popular tracts does not accurately reflect the state of knowledge in this area. No persuasive genetic mechanism has been proposed to account for accumulated ....

Middle of Essay
.... drinking to excess can only be predicted within a complex, multivariate framework. The denial of this complexity in some quarters obscure what has been discovered through genetically oriented research and has dangerous consequences for prevention and treatment policies. A tremendous amount of attention and research has recently been concentrated on the inheritance of alcoholism and on the possibility of accounting genetically for drunken behavior. The major purpose for this research was the adoption studies conducted in Scandinavia in the 1970’s which found reliable genetic, but not adoptive transmission of alcoholism. This contemporary researc ....