This qualitative, interpretive research sought to elicit explanations for certain contradictions and choices in the lives of four married women who were autonomous and assertive in their careers, yet non-assertive and compliant in their married lives. Such contradictions appeared both in their projected stories and semi-structured interviews. It had been expected that these projected stories would reveal autonomy and assertiveness, in line with the white, middle-class, feminist values of the subjects, but they had not. Explanations for these apparent contradictions were attributed to the effects of being children of alcoholic fathers. While the subjects' socialisation and vulnerability to family ideology provided certain explanations for the presence of such contradictions, an object relations account of the unconscious need to resurrect an ideal father and repair the generic family provided a more probable explanation,and accounted for their traditional gender role behaviour as ideal wives in spite of their non-traditional, feminist behaviour outside of marriage.

The primary purpose of the present study was to investigate a specific area of cognitive functioning to determine if any differences exist between adult children of alcoholics and controls in the processing of emotionally laden word cues. Of secondary importance was the investigation of group differences in self-esteem, extroversion, neuroticism, and attentional control. A modified version of the Stroop Colour Naming Task was used to investigate selective processing of word cues in a sample of 37 adult children of alcoholics (ACOAs) and 37 adult children of non alcoholics (non ACOAs). All subjects were university students who volunteered for the study. The original form of this task required subjects to name the color of ink in which a word was printed while ignoring word content. Modified versions of this task substitute target words and control words for the words standardly used in order to investigate attentional bias for relevant word cues. As predicted, ACOAs were significantly slower than non ACOAs on this task. There was also a significant group x word type interaction. Compared to non ACOAs, ACOAs displayed a significant attentional bias in favor of alcohol and social threat words compared to neutral and positive words as evidenced by increased response times on the Stroop Task. There was also a significant main effect for word type with response time slowest for alcohol words and fastest for positive words. There were no significant group differences in self-esteem, extroversion, neuroticism, or attentional control. The results were discussed in terms of a generalized attentional deficit for the overall slower response time exhibited by the ACOA group. The more specialized Stroop effect of attentional bias for alcohol and social threat words was discussed in terms of the development of danger schemata based on previous life experiences perceived to be threatening. / Graduation date: 1992

The specific purpose of this study was to try and understand why unique experiences of living with an alcoholic parent could create developmental deficits which emotionally challenge COAs' when faced with the life lessons a college environment offers. This study offered four possible explanations for experiencing challenges in its theoretical background: (1) psychosocial development, (2) the epistemology of alcoholism and its effects on the family, (3) personality development and the concurrence of building resilience, and (4) the college environment itself, with the phenomenon of binge drinking--forcing COAs to confront family alcoholism. A total of 7 participated in this study--4 men and 3 women. Despite the dynamic differences in the answers overall, all 7 participants acknowledged one important concept. When the participants were asked about their own drinking habits, each participant said, though in different ways, they had to be careful with their drinking habits. Participants seemed to be aware that whether alcoholism is genetic or a learned addiction, they were at risk of becoming alcoholics themselves. This study found overall, as previous literature suggests, no matter how COAs are studied, they are found to be a heterogeneous population. Specifically, this study's results points out that they are indeed heterogeneous, yet similar in that all participants in this study, it could be argued, exhibit some vulnerability in regard to parental alcoholism.

Difficulties developing and maintaining intimate relationships are often attributed to adult children of alcoholics (ACAs). However, the focus of the literature has been on those obtaining psychological treatment and has primarily involved clinical impressions. The purpose of this study was to examine intimacy in the close friendships and love relationships of ACAs. Autonomy and intimacy in respondents' families of origin were also analyzed. Comparisons were made between ACAs currently in (n = 59) and not in (n = 53) therapy, and comparisons who had (n = 48) and had not (n = 77) received therapy. Alcoholics were eliminated. It was hypothesized that ACAs would score significantly lower than comparisons on love and friendship intimacy and autonomy and intimacy in their families of origin. Among the ACAs, those in therapy would score lower than those not in therapy. Hypotheses were tested using MANOVAS. ANOVAs were administered where there were significant differences, and Newman-Keuls contrasts further delineated the divergence. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to obtain explanatory data. The two ACA groups seem to represent distinct populations with those not in therapy failing to report intimacy differences previously ascribed to them. While all of the groups were similar in friendship closeness, only the ACAs in therapy had significantly less intimacy in love relationships. Furthermore, clinical ACAs differed from the other groups by having less family of origin health, more physical and sexual abuse, more maternal drinking, more depression, and more suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Family of origin health predicted intimacy in a love relationship. Family characteristics encompassing honesty, empathy and respect, which may or may not involve alcoholism, seemed to create an atmosphere of faulty parenting in the ACA clinical group which may have subsequently affected the child's intimacy in a love relationship. Results of the study support a developmental model and demonstrate the importance of including nonclinical ACAs as well as clinical comparisons in future research.

Research reports that an estimated forty-three percent of adults, or seventy-six million people, in the United States have relatives who are alcoholic. In addition, one in eight individuals, or an estimated 30 million adults, has an alcoholic parent. The literature suggests that the impact of growing up in an alcoholic family system may affect psychological functioning well into adulthood. Adult children of alcoholics (ACOAs) are at increased risk for a myriad of psychological symptoms including substance abuse/dependency, problems in interpersonal relationships, depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem. However, research has also indicated that there may be more heterogeneity within this group than previously reported. It has been suggested that while patterns of maladjustment and increased risk for psychological distress may be evident, no clear “syndrome” related to this population was supported. This study explored whether an ACOA’s childhood family role (i.e. Hero, Scapegoat, Mascot and Lost Child) explained variance within this population, using adult attachment and family of origin health as outcome measures. Results did not support this hypothesis. This study also examined between group differences in adult attachment styles and family of origin health between a sample of ACOAs and Non-ACOAs. Analysis indicated that ACOAs reported significantly more Fearful attachment styles than Non-ACOAs. As well, post-hoc analyses indicated that ACOAs described their families of origin as promoting significantly less personal responsibility, as well as, having lower support for the expression of emotions and constructive conflict resolution than Non-ACOAs. This study provides information which may be utilized by clinicians working with this population. The impact of less secure attachment styles within the therapeutic relationship should be considered. As well, this study provides evidence that a specific pattern of maladjustment secondary to the dynamics created by the disease of addiction may be present within alcoholic family systems that may differentiate them from other “dysfunctional” families. / text

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to re-examine the issue of whether adult children of alcoholics experience more depression, anxiety, and lower self-esteem than do children of non-alcoholic families. This study is a replication of the study of David Dodd, entitled A Comparison of Adult Children of Alcoholic Families with Adult Children from Non-Alcoholic Families. 1990. The measures used in this study were as follows: Children of Alcoholics Screening Test, the Beck Depression Inventory, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Coopersmith Adult Self-Esteem Inventory, and a questionnaire developed by this writer designed to obtain family history regarding not only alcoholism, but other issues of family dysfunctionality as well. The subjects for this study were 231 students enrolled in the counselor education program at this university, all aged 19 or older. Of the 230 subjects, 31 were male and 199 were female. Eleven males identified themselves as children of alcoholics, as measured by the Children of Alcoholics Screening Test, and 60 females identified themselves as children of alcoholics. Thus, a total of 71 subjects in this study were identified as children of alcoholics. T-tests were conducted to see whether any differences existed between the male and female groups. No significant differences were found. Results of this study showed that family dysfunctionality rather than parental alcoholism was the factor of variability regarding depression, anxiety, and self-esteem. There appears to be a strong relationship between parental alcoholism and family dysfunctionality, but dysfunctionality clearly has more impact upon depression, anxiety, and self-esteem in the adult children of these families than does alcoholism.

The present study assessed 351 undergraduate subjects on dimensions of parental alcohol abuse, childhood family environment, childhood social support, current coping style, current negative life experiences, current psychological symptomatology, and current indices of drug and alcohol abuse. Results indicated that, while paternal alcohol abuse, in and of itself, was not related to any of the outcome measures, maternal alcoholism was correlated with one measure of alcohol abuse and three measures of drug abuse, and was independently predictive of a portion of the variance of one alcohol abuse measure among subjects. Early environmental factors (family environment and low levels of social support), as well as current coping style and current negative life experiences, were found to be related to psychological symptomatology and to indices of drug and alcohol abuse. coping style was also found to be related to early family environment and to childhood social support, suggesting that coping style may have its developmental roots in early environmental factors. An interaction between paternal alcohol abuse and disengagement coping style was shown to be predictive of a portion of the variance of subjects' alcohol abuse. Interactions between maternal alcoholism and low level of social support were predictive of a portion of the variance of subjects' drug abuse. / Master of Science

The problem of this study was to assess the impact of growing up in an alcoholic family on adult personality strengths and to determine the perceived levels of autonomy and intimacy in the family of origin. The sample consisted of 115 volunteers, 84 women and 31 men, ages 22 years and older, who had at least one alcoholic parent. The 16 Personality Factor Questionnaires (16 PF) and the Family of Origin Scale (FOS) were administered. A 1 X 3 Chi Square Goodness of Fit analysis was used on each of the 16 personality factors to determine the personality strengths of adult children of alcoholics (ACA). A simple discriminate function analysis was used to determine the degree to which assessed strengths on the 16 PF discriminated self-reported levels of autonomy and intimacy in the family of origin. A multiple regression analysis was used to determine which 16 PF were more closely related to perceived autonomy and intimacy in the family of origin as measured by the FOS.

The purpose of this study was to gather insights from recovering (from addictions) Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACA) at Pathway to Recovery, Inc., Indianapolis, IN, who have participated in a pilot family addictions treatment group. This research gives evidence on the group counseling support that ACA group members reported they received and/or determined they needed to receive regarding: their (1) addictions and recovery; (2) specific family of origin roles; and (3) basic ACA issues; as well as information needed to continue living a healthy, productive, drug-free life-style, and; the assistance counselors/therapists could give in this endeavor.A case study methodology was used for this research. Eight informants were purposively selected from a total of 45 ACA group members. Three interviews were conducted with each of the eight informants. Retrospective, structured, and semi-structured interviews, as described by Fraenkel and Wallen (1996) were utilized. Since an interview guide was unavailable for use in this study, one was created.The following four conclusions were drawn from the results of this study:1. The evidence collected suggests that the eight informants benefited from the three-pronged (addictions, ACA issues, specific family role) Recovery, Inc.2. The evidence (detailed in Chapter Four) indicated that many of the actions described herein assisted informants after leaving the ACA group and that the group was responsible for many of the positive changes.3. Accepting oneself was identified most often as the step needed to achieve and maintain sobriety.4. Learning about family issues and studying childhood behaviors may be painful as well as helpful.Results of this study were not generalized beyond these eight informants. However, this study contributed new information to the field of addictions and family roles research by describing the actions, behaviors, thoughts and feelings of these eight informants. / Department of Educational Leadership