Family patterns of dysfunction that often reinforce maladaptive behaviors and cognitions of children growing up in an alcoholic home environment are often difficult to overcome. Adjustment issues associated with being an adult child of an alcoholic (ACOA) are presented along with factors that have been identified as being important in developing…

The study explores the role of race and differences in coping among 290 white women and black women with and without alcoholic parents, addressing two questions: (1) Does coping vary by parental alcoholism or race? and (2) How is coping in adulthood affected by childhood stressors and resources and by adulthood resources? Standardized…

Discusses effective family position as a new variable developed to measure the effect of birth order and childhood home environment on the likelihood of becoming an alcoholic. Constructs of fixation and regression may also be helpful in differentiating two types of alcoholism. (JAC)

Compared characteristics of female alcoholics receiving treatment with those of male alcoholics. Found male subjects had more psychosocial problems and had more contact with the child welfare authorities during their childhood than did the females. However, the females' offspring had had more such contact than the males' offspring. Socioeconomic…

Examined 171 female alcoholic inpatients, including subjects' own childhood, offspring, and family environment. Found that female alcoholics resemble males alcoholics and have disturbed childhoods with a drug- or alcohol-abusing, suicidal parent. In particular, boys of female alcoholics are extremely vulnerable during adolescence and have a more…

When children are raised in an environment where alcoholism is prominent, certain dysfunctional responses are learned as a way to cope with the challenge of that environment. This study was conducted to examine the learning styles of adult children of alcoholics. Subjects were college freshmen and self-identified adult children of alcoholics…

This study evaluated an hypothesized model of biopsychosocial factors that mediate the relationship between childhood abuse and substance abuse. A questionnaire packet consisting of self-report measures was administered to 160 drug dependent participants with and without co-occurring psychological disorders in residential, partial, and outpatient…