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PSYC 330 Alcohol and It's Prevalence Summary
Psyc 330 Alcohol and It's Prevalence Summary
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CHAPTER 9: ALCOHOLAlcoholic Beverages
Fermentation and Distillation
Alcohol is virtually always consumed in one of the three major classes of alcoholic
beverages: beer, wine, and hard liquor (aka distilled spirits).
The manufacture of these beverages depends on the process of fermentation, and on
the further process of distillation for hard liquor.
o Distillation: The process by which the heating of a fermented mixture increases
its alcohol content.
Fermentation begins when sugar is dissolved in water and exposed to air, which
creates the perfect environment for living microorganisms called yeasts.
o In this environment, yeasts multiply rapidly by eating the sugar, which is then
converted to ethanol and carbon dioxide by the yeasts’ metabolic processes.
o The carbon dioxide then bubbles to the top of the mixture, leaving the ethanol
remaining.
o As the yeasts grow, so does the percentage of ethanol—as much as 10%-15%.
At this highest point, the yeasts cease their work. Therefore, fermented
beverages do not have an alcohol content higher than 15%.
Which kind of beverage results from the fermentation depends on what sugar-
containing substance is used.
o When grapes are used, the grape juice ferments to form wine.
o When grains are used, fermentation produces beer.
Distillation was developed to increase the ethanol content of fermented beverages.
o Distillation first involves heating a fermented mixture.
o Since alcohol has a lower boiling point than water, the steam emitted through
boiling has a greater alcohol content than does the original fermented mixture.
o The vapor is then condensed through cooling, and the resulting liquid has a
greater alcohol content than the original fermented mixture.
o By repeating this cycle, it is possible to raise the alcohol content of a beverage
progressively higher.
Expressing the Alcohol Content of a Beverage
In the U.S, alcohol percentage is denoted by volume. This calculation is
straightforward: It means that 16 oz of a beverage that is 50% ethanol contains 8 oz
of alcohol.
Another way of expressing alcohol content is by weight.
o This is done in Britain
The alcohol content of a beverage is also designated by proof.
o Proof: The proportion of alcohol in a beverage, by volume.
Proof typically is used in reference to distilled spirits and equals twice the
percentage of alcohol.
History of Alcohol Use
Humans have used alcohol for thousands of years. The first nondistilled alcoholic
beverages were made inadvertently by natural fermentation.
Authorities believe the first beers were produced in Egypt between 6000 B.C. and
5000 B.C.
The earliest reference to distilled spirits appeared in China about 1000 B.C.
In 1790, adult citizens of America annually drank six gallons of pure alcohol per
capita, and by 1830, per capita alcohol consumption had risen to seven gallons.
(That’s almost 5 alcoholic beverages a day)
, Physician Benjamin Rush was the first to outline the effects of alcohol on humans. It
was also the basis of the idea that alcoholism is a disease.
In the 19th century, America expanded westwards, which brought about the saloon.
o Saloons at first served as a social function for the frontier people, but it quickly
moved away from a center of civilized interchange to a reflection of the rural
community of the American West.
o Drinking in the saloon was characterized by downing large quantities of whiskey
for the purpose of engaging in explosive behavior.
o The behavior associated with saloons led to a rebirth of the temperance
movement (social movement against the consumption of alcohol)
o Political figures in the late 19th and early 20th century such as John. D.
Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, and Henry ford supported the temperance
movement and gave money to back up their moral support. This drive led to
Prohibition and then to the passage of the Volstead Act.
Consumption of Alcohol and Heave Drinking in the United States
Per Capita Consumption
The per capita consumption of alcohol in gallons has had a constant increased from
1935, shortly after the end of Prohibition.
The data on per capita alcohol consumption tell us how much “average” drinkers in
the U.S. consume.
However, this statistic along can be deceptive because the average value masks the
large variation in drinking quantities and patterns among Americans.
From a public health point of view, “heavy drinking” is drinking that is associated with
negative consequences: accidents, job and family problems, and symptoms of
dependence on alcohol (such as inability to cut down on drinking and memory loss
associated with drinking).
Data collected in the National Survey on Drug Use and Health in 2011 reports shows
that…
o Men reported a rate of heavy drinking almost three times higher than women
reported.
o Age was a powerful factor as well: over 12% of 18-25 year olds reported heavy
drinking.
o The data also shows difference among the racial groups. Whites reported a
higher rate of heavy drinking than did either blacks or Hispanics.
In summary, many personal, social, and environmental factors are associated with
drinking patterns and drinking problems.
Young adult men (18-25 years old) are particularly vulnerable to heavy drinking.
Consumption of Alcohol and Heavy Drinking among College Students
Drinking has been such a large part of life at most colleges that many believe there is
a campus “culture of alcohol” on many campuses.
On many campuses, a tradition of customs and beliefs regarding alcohol spreads
through campus social life, and each generation of students passes it on to the next.
Heavy drinking amongst undergraduates attracts national attention because it is
associated with accidental death, injury, assault, unwanted and unprotected sex,
drunk driving, vandalism, suicide, and academic problems.
Various studies have found that students who drink the least attend religious schools,
commuter schools, and historically black colleges and universities.
The students who drink the most are first-year students, white, members of
fraternities and sororities, and athletes.
College surveys have shown some important trends since 1993. The percentage of
students classified as binge drinkers has remained the same statistically over time,
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