This research examines the population subgroup defined as children of alcoholics. Included in this examination are both minor children, and adult children of alcoholics. The findings of this examination are presented in discussions (1) defining the problem, (2) considering the effects on children of alco holics, (3) describing the characteristics of children of alco holics, and (4) explaining the programs available to children of alcoholics.
"By far the largest group afflicted by alcoholism are the children" (Al Anon Family Group, 1988, p. 51). In North Amer ica, it is estimated that as many as 25 million persons are "either children presently living with one or more alcoholic parents, or adults who . . . grew up in such a home" (Kokin, & Walker, 1989, p. 127).
It was long assumed that "children . . . were somehow immune to the drinker's dependency on alcohol, or that if they were affected the effects would . . . disappear once the alco holic stopped drinking" (Kokin, & Walker, 1989, p. 127). In the 1960s, however, a deeper understanding of the problem developed (Cook, 1969). This understanding revealed that
1 2"offspring can be . . . profoundly affected by the various experiences of living with an alcoholic parent" (Kokin, & Walker, 1989, p. 127). It is now known that, in addition to the direct effects of alcoholic parents on these children, "many . . . are in danger of becoming alcoholics themselves without counseling and appropriate help" (Al Anon Family Group, 1988, p. 51).
In the 1970s, the term adult children of alcoholics began to appear much more frequently in the literature (Woodside, 1982). It was learned that these individuals are "susceptible to certain emotional, physical, and spiritual problems" to a greater extent than most other people (Cotton, 1979, p. 110). An adult child of an alcoholic is considered to be "anyone who comes from a family . . . where alcohol abuse was a primary and central iss...