In this study, responses from
adult children of alcoholics were compared with those from non-alcoholic families of origin (non-ACAs).
A theme pervasive among the new stories is that conveyed by the
adult children of alcoholics (ACA's): being raised by one or more alcoholic parents creates long-lasting emotional deficits such as heavy sadness, low self-worth, and an inability to develop healthy, trusting, intimate relationships:
Toni A,
Adult Children of Alcoholic founder, WSO for ACOA.
Control, attachment style, and relationship satisfaction among
adult children of alcoholics. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 24, 281-98.
In Recovery: A Guide for
Adult Children of Alcoholics, Herbert L.
Adult Children of Alcoholics meets from 7:30 to 9 p.m.
Another leader in this movement of
Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACoA), Sharon Wegschcider-Crusc describes these children who become tomorrow's parents as "...
The investigators also looked at the impact of marriage on drug use trajectories in young
adult children of alcoholics and determined that "marriage mediated but did not moderate the relations between parental alcoholism and the rate of change in drug use during the transition into young adulthood and the level of drug use at ages 25 to 30."
Sure enough, he spends much time psychoanalyzing the thesp, quoting liberally from "
Adult Children of Alcoholics" a few pages in, and the "DSM--Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" about his oppositional
It is the fundamental assumption that many
adult children of alcoholics (ACOAs) adopt certain roles to cope with parental alcoholism, have a difficult time separating from their family of origin, are unable to establish stable commitments in love and work, and experience a severe depletion of self-esteem (Black, 2001; Hall, 2004).
Personality characteristics of
adult children of alcoholics. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 51, 694-702.
Al-Anon Family Groups and Nar-Anon are probably the best known of these 12-step groups, but help is out there for
adult children of alcoholics, codependents, co-sex addicts and many others.
