4. Creating Symptoms
Children with an antisocial alcoholic parent or two
alcoholic parents were at the greatest risk for
externalizing symptoms.
A child with a depressed alcoholic parent was at the
same risk of an antisocial parent.
Alcoholic families may convey a genetic susceptibility
for alcohol abuse and their environment then
exacerbates the susceptibility.
(Mental Health Weekly Digest, 2007)
5. Creating Symptoms cont.
The distal effects of parental alcoholism were
consistent with an increase of their children
externalizing symptoms.
The timing of parental alcohol use was related to the
children showing symptoms.
(Hussong, Huang, Curran, Chassin, & Zucker, 2010)
Children who were rated higher in active-support-
seeking coping and coping efficacy were rated lower by
teachers for externalizing and internalizing
adjustment problems.
(Smith, Eisenberg, Spinrad, Chassin, Morris, & Kupfer, 2006)
6. Creating Symptoms- Contradictory
Research
Slutske, Donofrio, Turkheimer, Emery, Harden, Heath,
& Martin (2008) experimented to measure the effects
of parental alcoholism on children. The study involved
889 twin pairs and 1,176 children who were eligible to
be involved in the experiment. The conclusion was
that only a minority of children of alcoholics develop
alcohol related problems due to their exposure to an
alcoholic parent. Their explanation for this is that
some children may in fact model their parents
drinking behavior, but others are likely to limit their
drinking because of their exposure to alcoholism.
7. Effects of Verbal and Visuospatial
Abilities
Corral, Holguin, & Cadaveira (2003) did a follow up exam
on a group of children who were first interviewed three and
a half years ago.
The first assessment showed that children from high-
density alcoholism family varied significantly in
visuospatial abilities and verbal span than children who
were not from families with high amounts of alcoholism.
The results were that high-density children did catch up
with the control group of children as far as verbal span, but
differences remained in terms of maturation (Corral,
Socorro, & Cadaveira, 2003).
8. Risk for causing Psychopathology
The risk of diagnoses for ADHD, ODD, CD, OAD, and
SAD is three times higher if children are from families
with alcohol dependent fathers and families in which
another elder member is abusing alcohol, than if
children are from families that have no one currently
abusing alcohol.
The conclusion is that there is a potential risk of
genetic predisposition to psychiatric disorders as well
as other environmental interactions.
(Jiloha, 2002)
9. Risk for causing Psychopathology
cont.
Children of parental alcoholism often experience
negative psychosocial outcomes, including a higher
likelihood of externalizing problems such as conduct
disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, delinquency
and ADD, as well as internalizing problems such as
depression and anxiety.
Children of alcoholics are more likely to drink earlier
and to develop alcohol use problems faster.
(Klostermann & Kelley, 2009)
10. Delinquency
Rejection by the parents is the biggest risk factor for
aggression, delinquency, and attention problems.
(Barnow, Lucht, Hamm, John, & Freyberger, 2004)
11. Alcoholism and Abuse
Parental alcoholism was not significantly related to
histories of sexual, physical, or emotional abuse.
Adult children of alcoholics with no history of physical
or sexual abuse did not have increased depression or
low self-esteem, but did have increased relationships
to substance dependent partners.
Parental alcoholism was not related to increased
alcohol use in their children.
(Harter & Taylor, 2000)
12. Adult Children of Alcoholics
(ACOAs)
ACOAs have a tendency to respond to environmental
stimuli with emotional flooding, emotional liability, or
hypersensitivity
ACOAs tend to be more emotionally cut off, have a
lack of satisfaction in their lives, and are more likely to
experience a compromised ability to develop trust and
intimacy
(Johnson & Stone, 2009)
13. Factors that Help Children of
Alcoholics
Family health, emotional expressiveness, and family
cohesion seem to predict better outcomes in functioning.
(Johnson & Stone, 2009)
Couples who participated in parent skills training and
behavioral couple’s therapy reported significant effects on
all child measures throughout the 12 month follow up.
Behavioral couple’s therapy reported second best results
and individual-based treatment showed the least benefit.
(Lam, Fals-Stewart, & Kelley, 2008)
14. Further Research
Research should be done to confirm the given hypothesis.
What is the biggest risk factor for adverse characteristics a
child can encounter?
i.e.: Is it an alcoholic parent, an abusive parent, an
absent parent, or a parent who is not appropriately
supportive which is most dangerous to the child
developing adverse characteristics.
If a child is being raised in a negative environment with
risks for adverse characteristics, and an individual is placed
in that environment who stands out as a positive and
supportive influence, would it make a difference in the
development of the child?
15. References
Alcoholism; new alcoholism in children research from university of North Carolina, department of
psychology outlined. (2007). Mental Health Weekly Digest, 82-82. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/194565765?accountid=34899
Barnow, S., Lucht, M., Hamm, A., John, U., & Freyberger, H. J. (2004). The relation of a family history
of alcoholism, obstetric complications and family environment to behavioral problems
among 154 adolescents in Germany: Results from the children of alcoholics study in
Pomerania. European Addiction Research, 10(1), 8-14. doi:10.1159/000073721
Corral, M., & Cadaveira, F. (2003). Neuropsychological characteristics of young children from
high-density alcoholism families: A three-year follow-up. Journal of Studies on Alcohol
and Drugs, 64(2), 195-199. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/200431222?accountid=34899
Harter, S. & Taylor, T. (2000). Parental alcoholism, child abuse, and adult adjustment. Journal of
Substance Abuse, 11(1), 31-44. Retrieved from
http://www.sciencedirect.com.libproxy.edmc.edu/science/article/pii/S0899328999000188Hu
ssong, A. M., Huang, W., Curran, P. J., Chassin, L., & Zucker, R. A. (2010). Parent alcoholism impacts
the severity and timing of children’s externalizing symptoms. Journal of Abnormal Child
Psychology, 38(3), 367-80. doi:10.1007/s10802-009-9374-5
Jiloha, R. (2002). Relationship between child psychopathology and parental alcoholism.
International Perspectives on Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 2, 363-374. Retrieved
from
http://www.sciencedirect.com.libproxy.edmc.edu/science/article/pii/S1874591102800161
Johnson, P., & Stone, R. (2009). Parental alcoholism and family functioning: Effects on
differentiation levels of young adults. Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly, 27(1), 3-18. doi:
10.1080/07347320802586601
16. References cont.
Klostermann, K., & Kelley, M. L. (2009). Alcoholism and intimate partner violence: Effects on
children’s psychosocial adjustment. International Journal of Environmental Research
and Public Health, 6(12), 3156-3168. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/227372184?accountid=34899
Lam, W., Fals-Stewart, W., & Kelley, M. (2008). Effects of parent’s skills training with
behavioral couple’s therapy for alcoholism on children: A randomized clinical pilot trial.
Addictive Behaviors, 33(8), 1076-1080. Retrieved from
http://www.sciencedirect.com.libproxy.edmc.edu/science/article/pii/S0306460308000920
Nefer, B. (2010). Children of alcohol abuse. Retrieved from
http://www.livestrong.com/article/200768-children-of-alcohol-abuse/
NIAAA. (2009). A widespread problem. Retrieved from
http://alcoholism.about.com/cs/homework/a/blproblem.htm
Slutske, W. S., Donofrio, B. M., Turkheimer, E., Emery, R. E., Harden, K. P., Heath, A. C., & Martin,
N. G. (2008). Searching for an environmental effect of parental alcoholism on offspring
alcohol use disorder: A genetically informed study of children of alcoholics. The
Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 117(3), 534-551. doi:10.1037/a0012907
Smith, C. L., Eisenberg, N., Spinrad, T. L., Chassin, L., Morris, A., Kupfer, A., (2006).
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Editor's Notes
Mental Health Weekly Digest (2007) conducted research to determine if children of alcoholic parents, ages 2 through 17, externalized symptoms. Their research was based on the analysis of two individual studies.
The study done by Hussong, Huang, Curran, Chassin, & Zucker (2010)tested children ages 2 to 17 to see if they showed externalized symptoms at the same time the parent showed alcohol-related consequences, if parents showed greater alcohol-related consequences during the study period, and to see if parents had a lifetime diagnosis of alcoholism that predated the study period, identified as distal effects. The study done by Smith, Eisenberg, Spinrad, Chassin, Morris, & Kupfer (2006) examined a sample of school-age children with a history of alcoholism, either in parents or in grandparents. Parents and older siblings reported on the children's coping strategies, parents also reported on their parenting behavior, and finally, teachersreported on the children's externalizing and internalizing issues.
The purpose of this study done by Jiloha (2002) was to establish whether parental alcoholism put children at higher risk for psychiatric disorders. Thestudy involved 50 alcoholic fathers, 50 non-alcoholic fathers, and 170 children. Group 1 consisted of 30 families, containing 68 children, which did not have an elder member abusing alcohol. Group 2 consisted of 20 families, containing 40 children, who did have an elder member of the extended family abusing alcohol and group 3 was the non-alcoholic control group, with 62 children. The children were given a questionnaire to collect data and were interviewed, along with other significant family members, to obtain more information on socio demographic variables (Jiloha, 2002).
The goal of the research done by Klostermann & Kelley (2009) was to measure the effects of parental alcoholism on children and the effects of children's exposure to intimate partner violence.
Barnow, Lucht, Hamm, John & Freyberger (2004) conducted experiments regarding the relationship of a family history of alcoholism, obstetric complications, and negative parenting practices to aggression and delinquency problems in their children. Additionally, they studied the predictive strength of these factors in regards to these characteristics.
Harter, S., & Taylor, T. (2000) used a series of self-report tests to gather their information. One of these tests was the children of alcoholics screening test, which measures children's experiences related to their parent's drinking behavior, a personal experiences survey which measures childhood experiences of sexual, physical, and emotional abuse. Another test was the SCL-90-R, or symptom checklist-90-revised, which measures psychological symptoms in the past week of taking the survey. Finally, they used a self-reported social adjustment scale, which assessed school and/or work responsibilities, social relationships, and relationships to extended family. The purpose of these surveys and experiment over all was to assess the long-term effects and co-occurrence of parental alcoholism and childhood sexual, physical, and emotional abuse.
The study done by Johnson and Stone (2009) investigated the impact of parental alcoholism on family functioning in various levels of young adults. The study involved 813 college students who completed a Differentiation of Self Inventory, a Self-Report Family Inventory Version II, as well as questions relating to experiences in their families.
In the study done by Lam, Fals-Stewart, & Kelley (2008), some couples were sent to parent skills with behavioral couple’s therapy, other couples were sent to behavioral couple therapy without parent training and the remaining couples were sent to individual based treatment without couples therapy or parent skill training. Afterwards, parents completed measures of child externalizing and internalizing behaviors at pretreatment, post treatment and a 6 and 12 month follow up. Children also completed self-report of internalizing symptoms at each assessment.
