Adult children of alcoholics are often found in social workers' caseloads (Martin, 1991). To the extent that empirical studies uncover the effects of parental alcoholism on the psychoemotional and relational status of adult offspring of alcoholics, social workers will be better able to assess and treat these clients (Martin, 1995). It is these facts that make the study by Kashubeck and Christensen (1995) that is critiqued in this paper relevant to social workers. The purposes of Kashubeck and Christensen's (1995) study were to determine whether, for a sample of college students whether:
(1) Students' self-esteem was correlated with depression independently of family functioning; and
(2) Family relational quality was associated with students' degree of distress about paternal alcoholism and behavior.
An extremely comprehensive review of the variables of interest was presented that supported the need for the undertaken study and that assisted in the development of the study's central purpose and research questions. All citations were from reputable journals.
All subjects in the study were psychology students volunteering their participa
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