What role do genetics play in addictions, especially alcoholism?
A summary of research over the past 35 years shows that for alcoholism, by far the most studied addiction, there is no genetic factor for most people. There is a subset of people who may have increased genetic risk but we now know conclusively that there is no single gene for alcoholism. Indeed, given what genes do (code for amino acid chains of protein molecules) it would be impossible for there to be a gene for a behavior as complex as addiction. The fact that there is any genetic factor at all means that there may be many, perhaps hundreds, of genes that could bear on the condition. Inheritance of alcoholism is similar to other conditions like high blood pressure where there is no specific gene or set of genes for it but a combination of many factors including some genetic predisposition for some people with many non-genetic factors such as behavior, personality, and environment. Given our knowledge of the psychological basis for addiction, it is possible that genetic factors that m
