A STUDY OF ALCOHOLISM AND ITS REPERCUSSIONS ON

FAMILIES IN THE CASE OF GHANA.

Background of The Study.

Alcohol since time immemorial has been used for various purposes such as medicine, religious practices

and to an extent, as food. Alcohol, for past times was against the laws of many countries but has become

legal in most of them and Ghana is not an exception. Lots of people take in alcohol as an appetizer, that

is, helps them to eat. Others take it when they find themselves in tough situations with the notion that it

will help them overcome it. Aside all other reasons that people may attach to the intake of alcohol, it is

also an important risk factor for traffic crashes as it impairs the judgement, motor and cognitive

coordination of motorist, thereby leading to traffic crashes (Dultz & Frangos, 2013). Some drivers like

any other person, also take in alcohol but legislations are setup to limit the level of alcohol intake before a

person drives, which is known as blood alcohol concentration, (BAC). In the case of Ghana, the blood

alcohol concentration is 0.08%. when the alcohol concentration in a driver’s blood exceeds this limit, he

or she will be dealt with as enshrined in the law.

In Ghana, the law that regulates driver’s activity on road is the ‘’Road Traffic Act, 2004 (Act 683),

section-4. The act elaborates on offences and penalties when driving under the influence of alcohol. There

are different types of alcohol in Ghana, the recorded and the unrecorded. The recorded has to do with

those manufactured from factories and stock is taken on them while the unrecorded drinks in Ghana are

obtained traditionally from palm trees or cereal grains.

Increased Road Crashes. According to the Ghana road safety commission, out of 25 causes of road
accidents, drunk driving happens to be the third, which comes after distraction and over speeding.

According to the road safety commission, in 2018, two thousand, three hundred and forty-one (2341)

people were killed in road accident of which 1796 were all males representing 76.72% of the total figure.
It is realized that most of the accidents have more of the males involved than the females and goes a long

a way to affect homes and the country at large.

Alcohol has caused a lot of harm than good. This is because, many lives have been lost on roads due to

drunk driving. This goes a long way to affect children’s whose parents fall victims, orphans and even

leads to streetism when other members of the family refuse to take responsibility in the absence of the

parents. It also brings the reputation of the of a family down. In societies where either the mother or the

father happens to be an alcohol addict and misbehaves in town, it brings some form of discomfort on the

children concerned.

Hypothesis;

Directional hypothesis: increase in drunk driving will lead to a high number of roads crashes.

Non-directional: drunk driving will lead to road accidents.

Variables;

Independent variable(y): accidents.

Dependent variable(x): fatalities.

Objectives.

1. To determine the weight of drunk driving on roads in Ghana.

2. To establish a prevalence of blood alcohol concentration among road crashed victims.
High Dependency Ratio or Burden. Drunk driving has destroyed lots of families in the sense
that, it has disabled, destroyed the future, stolen the joy and taken away the ambitions of most families.

There are lots of people who are disabled as a result of road accidents which drunk driving is a

contributor. Such people have been deprived from pursuing their dream jobs because their state will not

qualify them for the job. This in the long run contributes to dependency burden in the country. The laws

must be effectively enforced and legislations set up to monitor the activities of drivers to reduce road

crashes.

Hypothesis;

Directional hypothesis: increase in the number of disabled persons will lead to high dependency ratio.

Non-directional: disabled persons have an impact on dependency ratio.

Variables;

Independent(x): disabled persons

Dependent(y): dependency ratio

Objectives.

1. To assess the effect disability on the working force of the economy.

2. To determine the effects of alcohol on families.

conclusion

Alcohol and driving are two parallel lines that should not come together, that is, drink and stay off the

steer or drive and forget alcohol. Because of this, the laws must be effectively enforced and legislations

set up to monitor the activities of drivers to reduce road crashes.

 University of education, winneba.

School of business

Lecturer: Dr. Emmanuel Yamoah

Course Title: Research Methods in Business and Administration

Course Code: BBA351

Assignment 1

Research Topic: A Study of Alcoholism and Its Repercussions on Families in The Case of Ghana.

Content

Background of The Study.............................................................................................................................1

Increased Road Crashes...............................................................................................................................1

Hypothesis...................................................................................................................................................2

Variables......................................................................................................................................................2

Objectives....................................................................................................................................................2

High Dependency Ratio or Burden..............................................................................................................3

Hypothesis...................................................................................................................................................3

Variables......................................................................................................................................................3

Objectives....................................................................................................................................................3
conclusion....................................................................................................................................................3