Kathleen Jones wrote a literature review on the effects of parental alcoholism on children. The review examined research showing that children with antisocial or depressed alcoholic parents are at greater risk for externalizing symptoms. Parental alcoholism was also linked to increased risk of psychopathology in children, including conduct disorder and depression. However, one study found that only a minority of children of alcoholics develop alcohol problems themselves. Factors like family support and positive influences can help mitigate risks to children in alcoholic families. The review identified areas for further research on identifying the most impactful risk factors and how supportive influences may help children raised in negative environments.

1. Kathleen Jones
Argosy University
PSY 492

2. Table of Contents
PAGE | TITLE | RESEARCHERS
3. Hypothesis
4. Creating symptoms (Mental Health Weekly)
5. Creating symptoms cont. (Hussong, Huang, Curran, Chassin, & Zucker, 2010 and Smith, Eisenberg,
Spinrad, Chassin, Morris, & Kupfer, 2006)
6. Creating symptoms- Contradictory research (Slutske, Donofrio, Turkheimer, Emery, Harden,
Heath, & Martin, 2008)
7. Effects of verbal and visuospatial abilities (Corral, Socorro, & Cadaveira, 2003)
8. Risk for causing psychopathology (Jiloha, 2002)
9. Risk for causing psychopathology cont. (Klostermann & Kelley, 2009)
10. Delinquency (Barnow, Lucht, Hamm, John, & Freyberger, 2004)
11. Alcoholism and Abuse (Harter & Taylor, 2000)
12. Adult children of alcoholics (ACOAs) (Johnson & Stone, 2009)
13. Factors that help children of alcoholics (Johnson & Stone, 2009 and Lam, Fals-Stewart, & Kelley,
2008)
14. Further research
15. References
16. References cont.

3. Hypothesis
 Parental alcoholism in combination with an
unsupportive environment causes adverse
characteristics in the child.

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).
Children’s coping strategies and coping efficacy: Relations to parent socialization, child
adjustment, and familial alcoholism. Development and Psychopathology, 18(2), 445-69.
Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/201698426?accountid=34899