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 purpose of this study is to incorporate the aspects of Christian spirituality into alcoholic rehabilitation. These spiritual disciplines are:- i. Prayer, ii. Meditation, iii. Solitude, iv. Confession. The Kwa-Nobuhle which is a Black township in the Eastern Cape is chosen as the microcosm of Black South Africa for the purpose of analysis and evaluation of the extent damage of alcoholism with a view of coming with curative measures. The study report consists of 7 chapters which will be briefly discussed as follows: Chapter 1. This is an introductory chapter which deals with the following aspects viz. Motivation; Objectives, Methodology together with the method of presentation of the study. Chapter 2. In this chapter The Kwa-Nobuhle Kabah which is the case study of this thesis is discussed. Attention is paid to the analysis of The Kwa-Nobuhle problems; the nature and the extent of the problem of Alcoholism in Kwa-Nobuhle; The extent of alcohol problem narrative in Kwa-Nobuhle and the response of the christian churches to alcoholism in Kwa-Nobuhle. Chapter 3. This chapter gives a detailed discussion of alcoholism as a disease. The analysis of the symptomatological nature, chronicity, psychosomatic nature of alcoholism is fully discussed. Chapter 4. Chapter 4 deals with the dysfunctional nature of the Black alcoholic family. The behavioral pattern of the Black adult children of alcoholics (BACOA) is fully analysed. Chapter 5. This chapter deals with 4 aspects of Christian spirituality which are relevant to Black Alcoholic Rehabilitation. The historical background of these disciplines as well as their relevancy to the Black community life and to the Black church in South Africa is discussed. Chapter 6. This chapter deals with the practical method of incorporating the aspects of christian spirituality into alcoholic Rehabilitation see. Annexures H J at the end of this thesis. the dynamics of the Black Family; the dynamics of the Black church and the relevance of A.A. 12 steps in Black alcoholic Rehabilitation are fully discussed. Chapter 7. This chapter deals with conclusions, recommendations and suggestions for the future. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Durban-Westville, 1992.

No description available.

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

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.