In the current study, the authors tested the hypothesis that children of alcoholic parents (COAs) show deficits in social competence that begin in early childhood and escalate through middle adolescence. Teachers, parents, and children reported on the social competence of COAs and matched controls in a community sample assessed from ages 6 to 15.…

The theme of this issue of a journal designed to focus on the prevention of various kinds of substance abuse is "children of alcoholics" (CoAs). The lead article, "Children of Chemical Dependency: Respecting Complexities and Building on Strengths," by Pamela Woll, examines chemically dependent family systems. The article begins…

Sees many adult children of alcoholics identifying themselves in hero role, making it useful tool for uncovering negative behaviors and starting to work toward change. Describes alcoholic home and hero roles of overachiever, controller, and perfectionist. Considers usefulness of individual counseling, group therapy, family therapy, and play…

This article reviews the factors that influence the development of substance abuse and other negative outcomes among children of alcoholic parents (COAs). It reviews several pathways that may lead to the development of substance disorders for COAs, then explores protective factors that may decrease their risk for future negative outcomes.

The stated objectives of this document are: to increase awareness of and clarify the risks facing children of substance abusers (COSAs) through a review of recent empirical research literature; and to examine the prevention and intervention issues involved in providing services to these youth in the schools. The literature review deals mainly with…

Objective: To evaluate the predictive power of executive functions, in particular, response inhibition, in relation to alcohol-related problems and illicit drug use in adolescence. Method: A total of 498 children from 275 families from a longitudinal high-risk study completed executive function measures in early and late adolescence and lifetime…

Nine fact sheets relevant to children's emotional well-being are presented in this document. The first fact sheet, "Teenagers with Eating Disorders" focuses on anorexia nervosa and bulimia. The second fact sheet, "Children and Grief" describes age-related responses to death, and ways of coping with a death in a family that…

This book tells the story of children and families whose lives are affected by alcohol. It also provides a guide to school personnel who are interested in developing programs for children of alcoholics (COAs). The program described herein, ESCAPE (Enhancing Social Competence and Personal Efficacy), was designed to be integrated into existing…

Compiled in this volume are summaries of the knowledge base on prevention of alcohol and other drug use and mental disorders in children and adolescents. The papers address risk factors, preventive interventions, conceptual and methodological issues, epidemiology, identification, service delivery and treatment, research, and professional training.…

Background: It is not known if the prevalence of parental psychiatric disorders is higher in stepfather than intact families, or if parental alcoholism is differentially associated with risk for conduct disorder (CD) symptoms in stepfather families versus intact families. Method: The sample comprised 839 girls and 741 boys from 792 intact families…