The Theoretical and Treatment Implications of High-Risk Variables for Adult Children of Alcoholics

Abstract

Adult children of alcoholics (ACoAS) differ in their vulnerability to psychological problems. A key psychological problem, an elevated need to control, has been identified for ACoAS in both case and experimental studies. This study (1) identified high-risk variables which are characteristics of ACoAS who show a higher need to control than many of their ACoA peers and (2) discussed the theoretical and treatment implications of these variables. The high-risk variables were identified by a procedure which split ACoAS from the general college student population into a lower need to control and a higher need to control group. A psychometric instrument (EGO) which has been shown to measure this aspect of control for ACoAS was given to each ACoA and then a median split was used to form the lower need to control and higher need to control groups. A stepwise discriminant function analysis was then used to select ten high-risk variables characteristics of ACoAS with a higher need to control. Employing a cross-validation group, the variables were found to produce a 69.4% correct classification rate of ACoAS who were known to have an elevated need to control. After the high-risk variables were identified, the respective theoretical and treatment issues for each high-risk variable were discussed.