According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, seventy-six million Americans have been exposed to alcoholism in the family. This means that one in four families is affected by an alcoholic, making alcoholism responsible for more family problems than any other single cause (Parsons). Alcoholism is a disease that not only affects the individual, but also everyone around the alcoholic. Alcoholics can make irrational decisions that are harmful not only to themselves but also to the people around them. These irrational decisions can cause financial instability for the family which, in turn, contributes to abandonment. Alcoholics can worsen financial problems a family is already experiencing and sometimes create new ones. This is due to several factors. Alcoholics often simply spend too much money on their addictions. Some alcoholics will use all their own money to support their addiction and, once this is lost, they will also use the money of other family members. Alcohol has been shown to impair motor function and reaction speed. Therefore it is safe to assume that an alcoholic is more likely to suffer an injury than someone who is not impaired. These injuries can cost the alcoholic medical bills and lost time at work (health problems). These examples are short-term health problems. Often the long-term health problems that alcoholics face prove to be much more costly. Some examples of long-term health problems they have are heart disease, liver damage, cirrhosis, and kidney problems. These are very serious health conditions and hospitalization is very expensive. Alcoholics often have difficulty keeping a job. Alcohol can affect a worker's rate... middle of paper... instability due to physical neglect for an alcoholic's children. Works CitedChild Welfare Information Gateway. "Types of Child Abandonment". eNonAlone, Web. 1 April 2011 http://www.enotalone.com/article/9887.html “Alcohol-related health problems”. Addiction in the family, problems caused by alcohol, November 27, 2010. Web. April 1, 2011 http://addictioninfamily.com/alcohol/problems-caused-by-alcohol/Parsons, Tetyana. "Alcoholism and its effects on the family." AllPsych Online, AllPsych Journal, December 14, 2003. Web. April 1, 2011 http://allpsych.com/journal/alcoholism.html “The Relationship Between Parental Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Child Maltreatment.” Child Abuse.com, Study Number: 14, Arctic Originals Inc., 2011. Web. April 1, 2011 http://www.childabuse.com/fs14.htm Walls, Jeannette. The Glass Castle. New York: Scribner, 2005. Print