Adult Children Of Alcoholics Group Research Articles

REPRESENTATIONS OF “FAMILY PAIN” BY ADULT CHILDREN OF ALCOHOLICS

Relevance. The term “family pain” is used in family psychotherapy to refer to the emotional state of dysfunctional family members. Research on this phenomenon in dysfunctional alcoholic families can expand the understanding of the family system and allow us to formulate the goals of psychotherapy with such families. Objective. To investigate the “family pain” experienced by adult children of alcoholics. Methods. The sample consisted of 52 people who were in a recovery program for adult children of alcoholics (ACA), and 50 controls. We implemented a phenomenological analysis of ACA groups, a content analysis of images of “family pain”, and factor analysis of the characteristics of “family pain”. Results. The study showed significant differences between the images of “family pain” experienced by adults who were raised and still live in alcoholic families, by those whose parents were alcoholics and had died by the time of the survey, and by those whose parents were not alcoholics. People who live with their alcoholic parents describe “family pain” as a familiar, long process with effects on the whole family. The experience of “family pain” includes anger, shame, and self-pity. People whose parents were alcoholics and have died describe “family pain” as a feeling of guilt towards their parents and a process of experiencing their parents’ death. The control group had difficulty describing “family pain”, or described it as a process of experiencing their parents’ death. Conclusions. Representations of “family pain” are associated with the subjective meaning of family dysfunction for the participant and the experience of negative emotions in the family.

부모의 문제음주가 대학생 자녀의 정신건강에 미치는 영향 : 인터넷중독의 매개효과

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the mediating effects of internet addiction on the relationship between parents’ problem drinking and their college-aged students’ mental health. Methods: This study was conducted using a descriptive survey design. The study subjects consisted of 512 college students from two universities in G city. Data were collected from November 5th to 30th, 2013 using self-reported questionnaires. The data were analyzed using SPSS 19.0. Results: Of the participants, 24.7% were the adult children of alcoholics (ACOA). The ACOA group scored significantly higher on internet addiction and negative mental health measurements than did the non-ACOA group. There were significant positive correlations between parental problem drinking and college students’ internet addiction and mental health. We also found that internet addiction partially mediated the relationship between parental problem drinking and college students’ mental health. Conclusions: To prevent mental health problems in the ACOA group and reduce the level of internet addiction, it is necessary to develop an integrated intervention that deals with the problem of internet addiction and mental health issues simultaneously.

부모의 문제음주가 대학생 자녀의 문제음주에 미치는 영향: 음주결과기대와 우울의 매개 효과

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the mediating effects of alcohol outcome expectancy and depression on the relation between parents` problematic drinking and their collegiate children`s problematic drinking. Methods: This study was conducted using a descriptive survey design. Subjects were 342 university students from three universities in Gwangju city and Jeollanamdo. Data were collected from November to December 2013 using self-report questionnaires. Data were analyzed using SPSS 19.0. Results: Of the participants, 31.0% were in the adult children of alcoholics (ACOA) group. The ACOA group scored significantly higher on problem drinking, alcohol outcome expectancy, and depression measures than did the non-ACOA group. There were significant positive correlations between parent problematic drinking and university students` alcohol outcome expectancy, depression and, problematic drinking. It was also found that alcohol outcome expectancy partially mediated the relationship between parent problematic drinking and their children`s problematic drinking. This was not found for depression. Conclusions: Based on the present findings, nursing interventions should be developed to decrease alcohol outcome expectancy, with additional consideration regarding depression, in order to prevent problematic drinking among ACOA.

Coping Behavior and Depressive Symptoms in Adult Children of Alcoholics

This paper examined whether adult children of alcoholics (ACOAs) would report more depressive mood symptoms as compared to non-ACOAs, whether coping behaviors differed as a function of ACOA status, and whether specific coping behaviors were related to depressive mood symptoms in ACOAs. Participants were 136 college students categorized as ACOAs and 436 college students categorized as non-ACOAs as determined by scores on the Children of Alcoholics Screening Test (CAST; J.W.Jones, The children of alcoholics screening test: test manual. Chicago: Camelot). As compared to non-ACOAs, ACOAs reported significantly more symptoms of depressive mood as measured by the Profile of Mood States (POMS; McNair, Lorr, and Droppleman, POMS manual: profile of mood states. San Diego, CA: Edits). On the COPE Inventory (Carver, Scheier, and Weintraub, Assessing coping strategies: a theoretically based approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56:267–283), ACOAs reported higher use of the following coping strategies: Behavior Disengagement, Denial, Focus on and Venting of Emotions, Humor, and Substance Use. For both the ACOA and non-ACOA groups, the use of Positive Reinterpretation and Growth and the use of Planning were significantly associated with fewer depressive symptoms, whereas Mental Disengagement, Focus on and Venting of Emotions, Denial, Behavior Disengagement, Substance Use, and Suppression of Competing Activities were associated with higher depressive mood scores.

Factors Influencing Resilience of Adult Children of Alcoholics among College Students

The purpose of this study was to explore the resilience of adult children of alcoholics (ACOA) who are college students, and examine factors contributing to their resilience. A total of 459 college students from a university in Incheon, participated in this study. Data were collected between April 6 to 30, 2010 using the Korean version of the Children of Alcoholics Screening Test (CAST-K), CAGE, Social Support, Self-Esteem, Family Adaptability and Cohesion, and Resilience measurements. Data were analyzed using the SPSS/WIN 18.0 program. Overall, ACOA group showed lower scores of resilience, social support, self-esteem and family adaptability and cohesion compared to non-ACOA group. Resilience among the ACOA group showed significant relationships with self-esteem (r=.53, p<.001), social support (r=.43, p<.001), and family adaptability and cohesion (r=.25, p<.013). Multiple regression analysis showed that 45% of the variance for resilience in the ACOA group was accounted for by age, gender, social support, self-esteem, and religion. The results of the study show that self-esteem and social support are important determinants of resilience in ACOA, thus it is recommend that further resilience training programs for ACOA be developed to enhance their social support and self-esteem, and ultimately to increase their resilience.

The Effects of Parental Alcoholism upon Locus of Control and Intimacy of Recovering Alcoholics

This study examines the effects of parental alcoholism on the differentiation of self, locus of control scores among 68 members of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) in New Jersey 46 of whom were adult children of alcoholics (ACOA). ACOAs with alcoholic mothers had higher chance external locus of control scores than did ACOAs with an alcoholic father. ACOAs with alcoholic mothers had lower spousal intimacy scores than did the ACOA group with both alcoholic parents.

Group Leader Perceptions of Personality Characteristics of Adult Children of Alcoholics

ABSTRACT A survey of university counseling centers regarding treatment for Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACAs) was conducted. One-half of the counseling centers surveyed reported that they conducted ACA groups on their campuses on a regular basis. Additionally, group leaders reported overwhelming support for Woititz's (1983) personality characteristics as appropriately descriptive of college-aged ACAs. These results are discussed in light of growing empirical evidence that Woititz's characteristics are not particularly descriptive of any group of persons.

Differences among nonclinical college women with alcoholic mothers, alcoholic fathers, and nonalcoholic parents.

To further examine the uniformity myth as it pertains to adult children of alcoholics (ACAs) and to elucidate potential within-ACA difference variables, differences among nonclinical college females with alcoholic fathers (F-ACAs), alcoholic mothers (M-ACAs), and no alcoholic parents (non-ACAs) were explored. These groups were compared in terms of eating disorder symptomatology, interpersonal difficulties, and reports of abuse. F-ACAs reported significantly more distress arising from interpersonal problems than did non-ACAs. Non-ACAs reported significantly fewer threats of parent-perpetrated abuse than either ACA group, whereas F-ACAs reported significantly more father-perpetrated threats of abuse than either non-ACAs or M-ACAs. F-ACAs also reported a significantly higher prevalence of father-perpetrated physical abuse than did M-ACAs. Suggestions for future research are made, and counseling implications are discussed.

A psychometric assessment of the Children of Alcoholics Screening Test (CAST).

Children of alcoholics have been identified as an at-risk population for a number of physical, emotional and behavioral problems. Therefore, accurate identification of this potential client group is important for both prevention and intervention programming. The current study investigated the psychometric properties of the Children of Alcoholics Screening Test (CAST), which was developed as an assessment tool for identifying latency-age, adolescent and adult children of alcoholics. Respondents were recruited through the use of nominational sampling methods for participation in this cross-sectional study. The study sample was composed of 65 male and 149 female respondents, including both adult children of alcoholics (ACOAs) and adults reared in non-substance-abusing homes (non-ACOAs). Both ACOA (n = 140) and non-ACOA (n = 74) groups included clinical and nonclinical subjects. Respondents completed a mailed, self-report survey that included the CAST, five other standardized instruments measuring family and personal functioning, and sociodemographic questions. Study findings indicated that the CAST is unidimensional, possesses excellent reliability (alpha = .98) and has a low standard error of measurement. Support was also shown for several types of measurement validity, including discrimination validity, factorial validity and construct validity. Data from the current study support use of the CAST as a reliable and valid instrument that may be employed in both research and clinical practice.

Adjustment issues with adult children of alcoholics

The current study assessed locus of control, general level of life satisfaction, and self-reported grade-point averages among adults who had experienced either alcoholism within the family of origin, traumatic life events other than alcoholism, or who indicated neither problem during their childhood. Results indicated that both the adult children of alcoholics (ACOA) and traumatic experience (TE) groups had lower life satisfaction scores than the control group. Significantly lower levels of locus of control also were found for the ACOA group in comparison to the control group. There were no significant differences among the three groups based on self-reported GPAs. Results of the current study support the concept that family dysfunction during childhood can influence negatively later life experiences and adjustment.

Personality characteristics of adult children of alcoholics, other adults from dysfunctional families, and adults from nondysfunctional families.

This study used the California Psychological Inventory (CPI) to examine the personality characteristics of adult children of alcoholics. The sample was noncollege age adults (N = 174). Subjects responding to advertisements were grouped into Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACOA) (56%), Adults with Dysfunctional Family Histories (ADFH) (21%), or Adults without Identified Dysfunctional Family Histories (AIDFH) (23%). Results indicated that the ACOA group was different from the AIDFH group on nine of the 28 CPI scales, but there were no significant differences between the ACOA and ADFH groups. The validity of clinical impressions of ACOAs and the utility of considering ACOAs as a distinct field of study are discussed.

An Exploratory Study Comparing ACoAs to Non-ACoAs on Current Family Relationships

This study compares Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACoAs) with Non-ACoAS on current family relationships. Subjects included 437 participants who were divided into seven groups: Non- ACoA males; non-ACoA females, ACoA males, ACoA females, ACoA males who were alcoholic, ACoA females who were alcoholic and a group of ACoA females who were sexually abused. Participants completed the CAST Alcohol Screening Test, the Locke- Wallace Marital Adjustment Test, and a demographic questionnaire. Results indicated significant differences between the ACoA and Non- ACoA groups on comparative divorce rates, marital adjustment, and perception of the quality of the relationships with their spouses and their own children. ACoAs were also much more likely to marry someone from an alcoholic family system than Non-ACoAs.

Characteristics of adult children of alcoholics.

Ninety-seven adult children of alcoholics (ACOAs), 36 adults with dysfunctional family histories, and 41 adults without identified dysfunctional family histories were compared on self-reports of 20 adult characteristics. Significant differences among the groups were found on 4 of the characteristics, with the ACOA group showing the highest frequency of occurrence on 17 of them. No differences due to gender of the alcoholic parent were found, and there was no group by gender interaction. The results suggested that the clinical characteristics attributed to ACOAs may have some empirical validity but the ACOAs seem fairly similar to adults with other types of dysfunctional family histories.

The effects of parental alcoholism on perception of control and imposter phenomenon

The present study examined the differences in internal and external locus of control and imposter phenomenon among persons with alcoholic and non-alcoholic parents. The subjects were 48 college students and 21 members of local Adult Children of Alcoholic groups. The students were further divided into those with alcoholic parents and non-alcoholic parents. The subjects were administered the following three instruments: the Nowicki-Strickland Internal-External Control Scale for Adults (Nowicki & Duke, 1973), the Imposter Test (Chance & O’Toole, 1987), and a family history survey. Analysis of locus of control scores revealed a highly significant (p<.01) difference for externality, with Adult Children being most external and students with non-alcoholic parents least external. Similarly, internality scores differed significantly (p<.0001), with Adult Children being least, and the non-alcoholic group being most internally oriented. Analysis of variance for imposter phenomenon revealed a significant (p<.05) difference among the three groups, with the Adult Children of Alcoholics group having the highest scores and students with non-alcoholic parents having the lowest. These findings are consistent with the idea that parental alcoholism interferes with nurturing and consistent reinforcement, and with the development of personal adaptability.

The Adult Children of Alcoholics in a Psychiatric Population

The issues confronting adult children of alcoholics (ACOA) are well publicized but their empirical basis remains limited. The screening of 250 consecutive psychiatric admissions to a general hospital revealed a significant prevalence of ACOAs across diagnoses. Compared to the other patients, the ACOA group was younger but with no other socioeconomic difference. The diagnoses of substance abuse and phobic disorders were more frequent. The group was psychiatrically hospitalized at an earlier age. The impact of an ACOA status varied with the parental biological relation and gender, and with the premorbid antecedents of parental alcoholism.