Common aspects of object relations and self-representations in offspring from disparate dysfunctional families.

Abstract

Survey data were collected from 97 adults, drawn from clinical and community settings, who identified themselves as growing up in dysfunctional families. Constructs from object relations, self psychology, and attachment theory were used to select criterion measures. Although the level of family dysfunction was generally high, no significant differences were observed between adult children of alcoholics and adults from families whose dysfunction was not due to substance abuse. Degree of family dysfunction was significantly associated with internalized shame, object relations deficits, and presence of addictions and emotional problems. Contrary to expectation, family dysfunction was negatively correlated with 2 self psychology constructs: goal instability and superiority. The study suggests that clinical interventions based on object relations and attachment theories may be particularly useful with adult children from dysfunction families. The term adult children of alcoholics (ACAs) has become popular with both mental health professionals and the public to denote a group of individuals with presumed shared developmental experiences and adult personality and interpersonal deficits (Fulton & Yates, 1990; Kashubeck & Christensen, 1992). These difficulties are assumed to result from growing up in a home where at least one parent was impaired by alcohol abuse. However, it has become clear that many other adults exhibit similar symptom patterns, although neither of their parents exhibited substance abuse problems. These individuals grew up in families with chronic violence, incest, psychiatric or physical illness, or some other form of dysfunction that rendered parents largely incapable of meeting the emotional needs of their children (Black, 1981). Adult children of dysfunctional families (ACDFs) is the term popularly used to identify this group. Common reports of adjustment difficulty from adults who grew up in families with disparate types of dysfunction suggest that these families may be similar in important ways. Problems that have been attributed to alcohol drinking are more likely due to factors coincident with alcohol abuse, such as maladaptive parenting; chaotic, distressed, or abusive environments; poor communication; and other problems that impair the family's ability to meet the child's physical and