Citation

Tasseit S. Alcologia 1998; 10(3): 85-91.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1998)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Societal transformation in the former GDR is seen as a typical process of rapid social change producing anomie as a loss of normative clarity. Durkheim states in 'Suicide' a relationship between anomie and a rise in suicide rates and alcoholism. He considers alcoholism not only deviant behaviour but a normal social phenomenon. Accordingly he defines alcoholism as the quantity of alcohol consumed in litres per head of the population. But in the first five years of Eastern German transformation both the rates of suicide and alcoholism as per capita spirits consumption dropped. On the other hand, to a certain extent as an amazing paradox, in Eastern Germany there is a distinct rise of the rates of such indicators giving evidence of alcoholism as deviant behaviour, e.g. liver cirrhosis mortality and fatalities in accidents due to alcohol.

Language: en

Keywords

accident; alcohol; alcohol consumption; alcoholism; German Democratic Republic; human; liver cirrhosis; mortality; review; social problem; sociology; suicide