Performance terminology can be applied as a form of analysis to evoke unique understandings of the identity of adult children of alcoholics (ACoA). By observing ACoA meetings, one can see members relying on positive reinforcement, validation perceptions, rewriting and visualizing healthy parenting skills, and rehearsing more functional alternative…

Children of alcoholics are at risk for socioemotional and behavioral problems. Adult children of alcoholic parents (ACAs) are at risk for problems in interpersonal relationships. ACAs have been found to have decreased self-esteem and self-acceptance in comparison to adults whose parents are not alcoholic (NACAs). College students who were young…

Alcoholism is frequently called a family disease; encouraging and even insisting that family members participate in the treatment of alcoholics has become routine practice in almost every treatment setting. This study examined the relationship between treatment participation by a family member and two measures of recovery for three birth cohorts…

Past research examining the influence of parenting styles on adolescent externalizing behaviors and substance use has left questions with regard to whether there is a relation between parental social support and adolescent externalizing symptomatology. This study examined the influence of parental control and social support on adolescent…

The effects of childhood physical and sexual abuse on the development of alcoholism in women was examined by comparing 127 alcoholic women in treatment with two comparison groups. One comparison group was comprised of 83 nonalcoholic women in mental health treatment or receiving services for battering. The second comparison group consisted of 92…

Adolescent offspring of alcoholics have been found to have higher alcohol reinforcement expectancies than do teenagers from nonalcoholic families. In particular, those with a positive family history of alcoholism expect more cognitive and motor enhancement with alcohol consumption. This study examined the alcohol expectancies of 58 matched pairs…

Noting that children growing up with an alcoholic parent often suffer from underdeveloped perceptual skills, unhealthy self-concepts, and low self-esteem, a study examined the impact of an alcoholic family environment on the ability of adult children of alcoholics (ACOAs) to communicate interpersonally. The Communicator Style Measure (CSM) was…

The relationships between experiences of parental violence during childhood and the development of alcoholism or victimization by severe violence from a partner in adulthood were examined by comparing samples of women in treatment for alcoholism (N=89), women receiving services for partner victimization (N=94), and a random sample of women (N=99).…

Current conceptions of Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACOAs) are unable to account for recent research which suggests many of the characteristics used to describe ACOAs are not valid. These conceptions also fail to explain the documented heterogeneity among ACOAs with regard to life and therapeutic outcomes. In this paper, an alternative model of…

There are over 28 million children of alcoholics in the United States, 22 million of whom have now reached adulthood yet continue to experience emotional, mental, and physical effects of life in an alcoholic family. In the workplace, adult children of alcoholics (ACOAs) have recently become acknowledged as a group who face special challenges. The…

Pomeroy House, a long-term residential treatment program in San Francisco, California, was created to help recovering alcoholic mothers and their children. Eight to 10 families stay at Pomeroy House for a minimum period of 6 months with extensions of up to 9 or 12 months, and the alcoholic mothers care for their children while recovering from…

Noting that little is known about how communication functions in alcoholic families, and about the effects of this alcoholic home environment on children of alcoholics, their communication patterns, and their relationships, this paper identifies strengths and weaknesses in existing literature on the alcoholic family and children of alcoholics. In…

Children of alcoholic parents often defend against family instability by adopting roles (hero, scapegoat, lost child, mascot) which bring a semblance of stability to the family. While one role may seem to dominate the character of an individual child, all four roles may be seen in the same child; at times conditions may cause an exchange of roles.…

Alcoholism has repeatedly been implicated in many significant social and health problems, yet little is known concerning etiology before age 12. As part of a longitudinal project to investigate alcoholism etiology in preschool children, a study was undertaken which compared families with male preschool children who are statistically at high risk…

Recent national surveys have found marked increases in the use of illicit drugs and alcohol among adolescents. To investigate differential prediction of alcohol versus hard drug use amoung youths, 6% of the youths, aged 10-19, from a Pennsylvania county school system (N=1,689) were assessed on the HEW Community Youth Program Impact Scales. The 12…