The literature both supports and challenges the notion that adult children of alcoholics are a distinct and homogenous group. College students (n = 200) were placed into one of four categories: Adult Children of Alcoholics, Adverse Childhood Event Group, Alcohol and Adverse Childhood Event Group, and the No Adverse Event Group. Participating…

Data from an ongoing longitudinal study examined resilience (competent performance under adverse conditions) in a community sample of children of alcoholics (COAs n=216) and matched controls (n=201). The study examined the prevalence of competence and whether the relation of competence to internalizing and positive affect differed for COAs and…

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.

This document presents a conceptual framework within which to view variability in parental alcoholism and children's exposure to alcoholism. The framework considers both individual characteristics of the children and ecological factors. A review of relevant literature on stress, coping, and adaptation among children and adolescents examines the…

Attempts to delineate indicators in children's depictions of family that suggest the presence of parental alcoholism. Kinetic Family Drawings from two groups of children were collected. Statistical analysis revealed two of six items of the evaluation - depiction of isolation of self and isolation of other family members - were significantly higher…

Although it has been estimated that 28,000,000 Americans may be children of alcoholics, these individuals have only recently been given serious attention by researchers and clinicians. Empirical studies pertaining to the effects of having alcoholic parents were reviewed and several clusters of characteristics were derived from the findings: (1)…

Data from a 25-year study of 194 individuals indicated that teacher and peer reports of aggression, compliance, and self-control at age 8 distinguished high-agreeable from low-agreeable 33-year-olds. High-agreeable childhood types had fewer disobedience and concentration problems than low-agreeable childhood types. High-agreeable childhood boys…