In the 1980’s, a handful of authors distilled the anecdotal experiences of adult children of alcoholics (ACoAs) into a syndrome of dysfunctional characteristics that they proposed were shared by most ACoAs. The books they published were commercially successful and launched a popular movement and a self-help industry, which mental health clinicians would eventually need to either acknowledge or refute. In the ensuing years, the ACoA syndrome has become broadly accepted among laypersons, but efforts to validate this syndrome through empirical research have been inconclusive. To date, there is little evidence regarding the degree to which mental health clinicians have embraced the validity of an ACoA symptomology. In this study, mental health clinicians in a southeastern state were surveyed regarding both their endorsement of a distinct ACoA syndrome and the therapeutic utility of ACoA support groups. The results indicated a lack of support for either.

The following study explores the factors associated with security of romantic attachment in Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACOAs). ACOAs are more vulnerable to inconsistent parenting and consequently are more likely to develop negative internal models of self, a stable construct that affects romantic attachments (Bowlby, 1982; Ainsworth et al, 1989; Bartholomew, 1990). This study examined associations between parent, and peer relationships as possible resiliencies. It was hypothesized that ACOAs will report less secure attachments with their parents (as measured by the IPPA), less romantic attachment anxiety and avoidance (as measured by the ECR-R), and no significant difference in peer attachment (as measured by the IPPA) when compared to ACONAs. It was also hypothesized that there will be an association between peer attachments and romantic attachments for ACOAs and not for the ACONAS. One hundred forty-three undergraduate students participated in the study. An independent T-test showed no significance for the initial hypothesis. The second hypothesis was partially supported, an independent T-test showed significant findings unique to ACOAs. ACOAs with more positive peer attachments had more positive romantic attachments.

Det är många barn som far illa av att leva med vårdnadshavare som har ett alkoholmissbruk. Dessa barn kan utveckla riskbeteenden och få anknytningsproblem, vilket kan hänga med långt senare i livet. Syftet med studien äratt undersöka individer som i sin barndom levt med en vårdnadshavare med ett alkoholmissbruk (eng; ACOA–Adult Children Of Alcoholics) och få en förståelse för deras upplevelser av socialt stöd i deras barndom, samt om de upplever att de har svårt att knyta relationer senare i livet. Syftet är också att se om det finns något samband mellan det upplevda stödet i barndomen och hur relationerna ser ut senare i livet. Teorier som använts är: Bronfenbrenners ekologiska modell, anknytningsteorin och dubbelbindning (eng; double bind). En kvalitativ forskningsmetod har använts och10 semistrukturerade intervjuer med ACOA har genomförts. Resultatet visade att ACOA upplevde ett svagt stöd i barndomen. ACOA upplevde att de i relationer senare i livet fick tillitsproblem som i vissa fall kundel eda till att ACOA fick det svårt att upprätthålla relationer och en hög självständighet. ACOA upplevde även en hög anpassningsförmåga. Två utsagor som inte gick att analysera var att ACOA försvarade andra på grund av den höga anpassningsförmågan samt att alkoholen kändes viktigare än individen själv. / There are many children who suffer from living with guardians who have an alcohol addiction. These children can develop risk behaviors and have attachment problems, which can keep up much later in life. The purpose of the study is to investigate individuals who in their childhood lived with a guardian with alcohol abuse (ACOA -Adult Childen Of Alcoholics) and gain an understanding of their experiences of social support in their childhood, and whether they experience that they have difficulty forming relationships later in life. The purpose is also to see if there is any connection between the perceived support in childhood and what ACOA relationships look like. Theories that been used are: Bronfenbrenner's ecological model, attachment theory and double bind. A qualitative research method has been used and 10 semistructured interviews with ACOA have been conducted. The results showed that the ACOA experienced weak support in childhood. ACOA experienced that in relationships later in life they had trust problems which could, in some cases, lead to ACOA finding it difficult to maintain relationships and a high degree of independence. ACOA also experienced a high degree of adaptability. Two statements that could not be analyzed were that the ACOA defended others due to the high adaptability and that alcohol felt more important than the individual himself. / <p>Handledares efternamn angivet på titelbladet som Waldermansson.</p>

Utifrån vår forskningsgenomgång framstod bilden av barn och vuxna barn till drogberoende föräldrar som övervägande negativ, sjukligförklarande och stereotypifierande. I kontrast till tidigare forskning sökte vi att med vår studie uppvisa en så komplett och balanserad bild vi kunde av ett antal vuxna barn - studiens syfte var att belysa positiva och negativa upplevelser hos ett antal vuxna barn till drogberoende föräldrar. Undersökningen genomfördes med en kvalitativ ansats, där empirin samlats in genom intervjuer med fem kvinnliga vuxna barn till alkoholberoende föräldrar. Materialet tolkades med Pierre Bourdieus begrepp habitus, sociala fält och kapital, samt den tidigare forskningen. Vi fann att nästan alla deltagare upplevde ensamhet eller utanförskap under barndomen, att alla hade olika många kompisar under uppväxten och att knappa hälften hade problem med relationer i vuxen ålder. Nästan alla informanter hade någon typ av svårighet i skolan under barndomen, och samtliga har idag avslutat eller undergår en eftergymnasial utbildning. Dessa individers positiva respektive negativa upplevelser, samt likheter och skillnader, visade att det är en grupp som både är och upplever både och.

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The primary purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of family-of-origin quality, adult regulation of negative affect, and marital stability with the extent to which couples report they drink similarly and the extent to which they report that the husband drinks more than the wife. It was hypothesized that these two types of couple drinking patterns would be impacted by each individual spouse's context as well as by the interaction of those contexts. A national sample of 1498 couples or 2996 individuals (1498 wives and 1498 husbands married to each other) participated in this study. This study sought to understand the family-of-origin influences when there was not an alcoholic parent in the home. Therefore, adult children of alcoholics were excluded from the sample. The results of this study suggested that wives family-of-origin quality and both spouses' regulation of negative affect were highly predictive of a husband drinking more than the wife, and moderately to highly predictive of couple drinking similarity. The husband's family-of-origin had only indirect effects on both alcohol use patterns. His family-of-origin had moderately significant effects on drinking similarity through the mediating variable of the husband's regulation of negative affect. His family-of-origin had moderate to highly significant effects on whether or not he drinks more than his wife through two indirect paths, with regulation of negative affect and marital stability as mediating variables. When examining partner effects on couple alcohol use patterns, findings suggest the contributions of husband and wife are not entirely equal. Findings suggest that the wife's family-of-origin influences the pattern of the ‘husband drinking more than his wife’, through the mediating variable of the husband's regulation of negative affect, and this relationship was found to be stronger than his own family-of-origin. The wife's family-of-origin and her regulation of negative affect were more predictive of whether or not the couple drank similarly than the husband's family-of-origin or his regulation of negative affect. The most poignant conclusion drawn from this study is the importance of recognizing not only individual contributors to later alcohol use, but also the influence of the interacting couple contexts when examining couple alcohol use patterns.

Parental alcoholism is a major risk factor for their children's future alcohol abuse and dependence during adulthood. Thus, the purpose of this descriptive phenomenological study was to understand African-American adult female children's perceptions of self-worth, their lived experiences, and their quality of life as it relates to parental alcoholism. The research focus and questions were addressed by applying the conceptual framework of Bowen's family systems and Covington's self-worth theories. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data from 8 African-American adult female children of alcoholics. Subsequent data analysis and thematic coding were employed by using Colazzi's 7-step method to ensure rigor. The key findings from this study revealed that although over half of the women in this sample experienced some form of abuse and exposure to familial discord and even violence, their self-worth was strengthened by resilience and through forgiveness of their parents and siblings. This study's implications for positive social change include helping researchers and practitioners to better understand parental alcoholism and how it could shape the experiences of offspring, especially in the African-American female ethnic group. Future interventions could be shaped by these findings, and researchers may use these study results as a platform for future work in this literature domain.