Effect of Regular Alcohol Drinking on Concentration & Mood, 1
MGT 435
BUSINESS RESEARCH
SPRING 2022
“EFFECT OF REGULAR ALCOHOL DRINKING
ON CONCENTRATION & MOOD”
PRESENTED BY:
CHIARA KHALIL
KELLY MATAR
GABRIEL ACHKAR
JOVAN YOUSSEF
MARILYN ABI NAKHLE
PRESENTED TO:
DR. LINDOS DAOU
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Effect of Regular Alcohol Drinking on Concentration & Mood, 2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Cover Page …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 1
Table of Contents ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 2
1. Introduction …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 3
1.1 General Background Information ……………………………………………………………………………. 3
1.2 Research Questions ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 4
1.3 Objectives of the Study ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 4
1.4 Benefitors of the Study ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 4
1.5 Added Value to the Study ………………………………………………………………………………………. 5
2. Literature review ………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 5
2.1 Concept of Alcoholism ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 5
2.2 Alcohol Abuse Among Teenagers ……………………………….. Error! Bookmark not defined.
2.3 Effect of Alcohol Consumption on Mood …………………….. Error! Bookmark not defined.
2.4 Effects of Alcohol on Concentration ……………………………. Error! Bookmark not defined.
2.5 Theoretical Framework ………………………………………………. Error! Bookmark not defined.
2.6 Conceptual Model ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 10
3. Methodology ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 11
3.1 Research Design………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 11
3.2 Sampling Method ………………………………………………………………………………………………… 12
3.3 Data Collection …………………………………………………………………………………………………… 12
4. Results and Discussion ……………………………………………………………………………………………. 12
4.1 Descriptive Statistics ……………………………………………………………………………………………. 12
4.2 Recommendations ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 18
5. Conclusion …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 19
6. References …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 20
7. ppendices …………………………………………………………………….. Error! Bookmark not defined.
Effect of Regular Alcohol Drinking on Concentration & Mood, 3
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 GENERAL BACKGROUND INFORMATION
At some point in their lives, about one-third of global population fulfills the
requirements for an alcohol use disorder (AUD). 1 Alcohol is one of the most regularly used drugs
in the United States, with almost 85% of people saying they’ve consumed alcohol at some point in
their lives and over 25% saying they’ve binge drunk (having a blood alcohol content (BAC) of
0.08 g/dL or above) in the previous month. Though alcohol is culturally acceptable in most areas
of the world, excessive use can be harmful to a person’s physical and mental health, as well as their
brain’s overall physiological health. Heavy or long-term alcohol consumption can cause learning
and memory problems, as well as the development or aggravation of mental health problems. For
a person to operate correctly, the brain is a fragile and sophisticated organ that must maintain a
careful balance of chemicals called neurotransmitters. Intoxication with alcohol can upset this
delicate balance, disrupting the brain’s natural homeostasis, and long-term, chronic usage causes
the brain to adapt in order to make up for the effects of alcohol. While some of the physical and
mental effects of alcohol fade when a person stops drinking, others may last longer and have long-
term health problems.
Furthermore, regular alcohol usage has also been proven to cause many problems to its user by
reducing their concentration capacity and ability to focus, alongside other side effects that can
cause a person to be physically fatigued and ultimately lazy. Consequently, it is of optimal
Effect of Regular Alcohol Drinking on Concentration & Mood, 4
importance to make sure that people, especially of the younger generation, understand the severity
of regular alcohol consumption and what it can cause on the physical and mental level of its user.
1.2 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The following dilemma has led us to ask the following questions as our research questions:
• Does regular alcohol consumption reduce a person’s attention span?
• Does alcohol increase laziness and procrastination?
• How does regular alcohol consumption affect a person’s motivation?
• Is alcohol actually a solution for mental illness, or is it catalyst for mental illness?
• Does the severity of the effects depend on the levels of alcohol being consumed?
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The objectives of this study are to properly identify and establish the relationship between
regular alcohol consumption and its direct/indirect effects on laziness and concentration span.
Moreover, another objective of this study is to serve as informative research for people who want
to learn more about the negative effects of alcohol consumption, especially the youngsters who
are facing similar problems at this stage of their lives.
1.4 BENEFITERS OF THE STUDY
All those interested in learning more about alcohol intake and how it harms the human body on a
physical and mental level can benefit from this research. These persons can be of any age, as this
is a topic that is important to everyone regardless of age. Alcoholism and AUD (Alcohol Use
Disorder) are a phenomenon that affects individuals of all ages and is a global problem; hence, this
topic is of great interest to people of many cultures, values, and ages.
Effect of Regular Alcohol Drinking on Concentration & Mood, 5
1.5 ADDED VALUE TO THE STUDY
The added-value behind this study is to have a proper idea on how to utilize alcohol
consumption in a way that will least affect one’s mental and physical health. This research will
portray the negative effects of regular alcohol consumption and how it relates to reduced
attention span and the lazy-effect.
2. LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 CONCEPT OF ALCOHOLISM
Since the beginning of recorded history, alcohol has played an important role in human
society (Hanson, 1995). However, with the alcohol industry’s continued expansion and quick
production, alcohol consumption has reached alarming proportions in our culture. Excessive
alcohol consumption is responsible for nearly 3 million fatalities worldwide in 2016, contributing
significantly to the global disease burden and creating greater mortality rates than diseases such as
TB and diabetes (WHO, 2018). Aside from increasing the prevalence of different physical and
psychological diseases in people of all ages, the economic costs of alcohol account for more than
1% of the gross national product in both high and middle-income countries, putting a significant
strain on healthcare, law enforcement, and overall productivity (Rehm et al., 2009). Moreover,
according to an article on the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism’s website titled
“Alcohol Facts and Statistics,” 9,967 persons died in alcohol-impaired accidents in 2014. They
also state that alcohol was responsible for 42.8 percent of the 83,517 liver cancer fatalities in 2018.
Alcohol has been proven to be harmful when it falls into the wrong hands, and it can result in
tragedies for the user or those around them, as seen by the 9,967 persons who died in 2014 as a
result of alcohol-related accidents. Alcohol is highly addictive, which is a major problem because
so many people can die from it. Because it is so frequent, and there are so many various reasons
Effect of Regular Alcohol Drinking on Concentration & Mood, 6
why people get it, it is such a complicated disease. Alcoholism can be caused by a number of
variables, including social anxiety, the addict’s past, and their genetics, which makes them more
susceptible to the disease.
2.2 SOCIAL ANXIETY AND ALCOHOL ABSUE
Social anxiety is one component that has been linked to the development of alcoholism in
many persons. A group of scientists decided to conduct research to see if there was a link between
social anxiety, body image and self-esteem, and alcoholism. To do so, they would look at a group
of people with and without alcohol addiction to see if social anxiety was more prevalent in either
group. They discovered a link between persons who suffer from social anxiety and those who
abuse alcohol. according to a study published by three researchers with psychology backgrounds,
“90.2 percent of the cases had social anxiety before alcohol addiction,”. Alcohol usage was
observed in the previous year in 22.2 percent of 153 patients with social phobia in a study” (Aydin
and colleagues 263). Alcohol addiction was shown to be moderately common among social phobia
patients, while social anxiety was found to be common among the group with alcohol addiction.
This evidence shows that there is a link between alcoholism and social anxiety because the link is
obvious. It also makes sense why persons with social anxiety would drink alcohol and become
addicted, because the writers of the same article state that alcohol is often used for anxiety
condition treatment (Aydin et al. 263). People with social anxiety will turn to alcohol to help them
cope with their nervousness. They begin to rely on alcohol to cope with their anxiety, which may
be difficult to break free from and can develop to a long-term addiction if nothing is done. The
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fact that alcohol addiction and social anxiety are linked is no accident; social anxiety is a cause of
alcohol addiction.
2.3 RISKS OF EXCESSIVE ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION
Excessive alcohol intake carries a number of dangers, which can be divided into two
categories: frequent drinking and heavy drinking on a single occasion. Regular drinking has a
major impact on cardiovascular disease, with alcohol responsible for 85.4 percent of the disease’s
negative consequences and hypertension risks showing a positive linear association with alcohol
use (Rehm et al., 2009; Taylor et al., 2009). Risks of alcohol-induced liver cirrhosis and
pancreatitis have been found to increase exponentially in response to alcohol doses (Irving et al.,
2009), with death risks from these diseases also increasing exponentially.
