Social Burden of Alcoholism Among The Wives of Alcoholics in Tribal Area

The paper explores the social burden among wives of alcoholics in a tribal area, Tamil Nadu, India. A qualitative approach using cross sectional phenomenological design was selected. Three focus groups were conducted on consecutive days of the same week with 10, 8 and 10 participants. The analysis of the focus group discussion was done by coding the key words and grouping them under various themes and sub themes. The results showed that alcohol is a social burden in families and communities. It is reported that young age, lack of proper education, child labor, peer pressure, family history and accessibility of the alcohol are the contributing factors of the alcoholism. It is showed that financial problems, not able to educate their children, loss of peace in the family and women harassment are the effects of alcoholism In family. The participants suggested preventive measures for reducing social burden on alcoholism are banning child labor, proper education, enforcing strict laws and closing of alcohol shops.