Problem drinkers and their families in Malta : the help available

Abstract

This study focuses on the help available for problem drinkers and their families in Malta with special reference to the services provided by the state in relation to particular problems (namely accidents, unintended sexual behaviour and problems regarding ageing) associated with abusive drinking. Consumption of alcohol is an activity which can lead to problems. Alcohol addiction and abuse constitute some of the gravest social problems of our time. They are problems which recognise no boundaries and affect all aspects of society. Apart from the human suffering and family disruption which addiction and serious abuse leave, there is the incalculable economic burden imposed on society in terms of the loss of skilled manpower and the provision of prevention, treatment and rehabilitation services. It is precisely the local rehabilitation and treatment services which this essay will attempt to look at. In Malta these Services are provided by both State and NGO's through sedqa on the one hand and Alcoholics Anonymous and OASI on the other. Due to the restrictions imposed by space, I shall focus the study mainly on some of sedqa's services, rather than take a comprehensive view of the whole spectrum of treatment services available. However an attempt to clarify the concept of alcoholism and to collocate sedqa's services within the conlext of all specialised treatment available in Malta will also be made. In fact this long essay will be divided as follows: Chapter 1 shall deal with the extent and nature of alcohol problems. I shall describe the Alcohol Dependence Syndrome, the immediate effects of drinking, symptoms & causes and the alcohol withdrawal syndrome. Questions of aetiology i.e. physiological, psychological and social explanations, will also be entered into. Some of the more notable effects of alcohol misuse, such as the effects of alcohol on children and the connection between drinking and accidents will be discussed. The question of the way alcohol problems manifest themselves in the Maltese Islands will be tackled as well. Chapter 2 presents some of the main treatment programmes which are available in Malta for alcoholics and their families. It examines their philosophies and ideologies and the way they work in their effort to give help to both problem drinkers and significant persons in their life. The services will be described in some detail, the main focus though being put on sedqa and the array of services it offers. Chapter 3 will focus on three aspects of the alcohol abuse problematic - accidents at work and driving accidents, drinking and unintended sexual behaviour, and the gerentological aspects of alcohol misuse - as they manifest themselves in Malta, and will attempt to describe and criticise the response of sedqa's Alcohol Services to these problems. Chapter 4 will consist of a summing up of the main points of my critique and end with recommendations and suggestions for an improvement in the services. I should point out that the basis of this critique was provided by my observations of operations at Dar iz-Zerniq, interviews with workers and informal conversations with clients (both drinkers and significant others). No particular methodology was rigorously followed (although in a sense I was a participant observer). Therefore rather than research qua research, this study should be seen more in the light of a literature review to which I attempted to contribute my thoughts and observations in a critical way.