Adult Children of Alcoholics This paper provides a general over

Adult children of alcoholics can be defined as those individuals who grew up in a household where one or both parents met the American Psychiatric Association's (DSM IV, 1994) criteria for alcohol dependence or alcohol addiction. According to Maulen and Faust (1992) literally one-quarter of the people in the world grow up in such households and in some countries the prevalence rates are far higher.

Maulen and Fast (1992) propose that the psychological consequences of being reared in an alcoholic household are so pervasive and systematic that adult children of alcoholics might be considered to be a new diagnostic group. This call for a diagnostic definition is based, according to the authors, on certain fairly reliable findings observed for ACOAs. These findings are that:

(1) ACOAs have a three- to four-fold greater risk of developing a dependence themselves than the general population. (2) ACOAs are more likely to marry partners who are also dependent, and h

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of addictive behavior and often create trouble for themselves because they feel more comfortable when there is a crisis. (p.58) As pointed out by Stark (1987), many ACOAs do engage in some form of addictive behavior; however, it needs to be noted here that this is not true of all ACOAs. Similarly, while many adult children of alcoholics go on to become alcoholics themselves, many do not. In summary then, adult children of alcoholics have several psychopathological characteristics and issues that are different from those of adults who were not raised by an alcoholic parent or parents. These characteristics and issues include a greater propensity to: addictive behavior, marriage to an addictive person, and separation or divorce. ACOAs tend to have a rigid and set family role, and to have interpersonal skill deficits (especially when interacting with the opposite sex). Indications are that their home environment was marked by conflict and by an aloof relationship with their father. As adults, they are generally more maladjusted than the general population with a strong tendency toward depression; further, there is often low self-esteem, guilt, and insecurity in dealing with their parents. There is a tendency to seek extern
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Approximate Word count = 3720
Approximate Pages = 15 (250 words per page)

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