Alcoholics Family Characteristics

Many alcoholics are so preoccupied with their addictions, that issues and activities that were once of interest to them, are no longer a concern. The alcoholic then becomes oblivious to his responsibilities for his or her children. Children of alcoholics often suffer from neglect. According to the Children of Alcoholics Foundation, each year “1.2 million children are confirmed by state agencies as being victims of child neglect. Forty percent of these cases involve alcohol or drugs. This suggests that an estimated

Children with alcoholic parents suffer all kinds of abuse and it is often life threatening (20). Addiction is not something that begins and ends with one person, the impact addiction has is tremendous and devastating. "Addiction sends shock waves through an entire family unit" (Straussner 1). Over 27 million children live with an alcoholic parent. It is nearly impossible to find children from alcoholic homes who are completely unscathed (The Visitation Handbook for the Custodial Parent 167). Children who grow up with alcoholic parents are forced to mature and grow up much sooner than they ought. Over 22 million adults have come out and said they have lived with an alcohol parent when they were a child (Seixas and Youcha xi). Alcohol continues to be predominant in The United States, because it is a drug that works for the majority of people. Alcohol allows a person to temporarily escape from the problems they are suffering. Most people reap the consequences of previous actions daily and therefore turn to alcohol which allows them to temporarily escape reality. Alcohol may allow people to escape their reality for a time being, but it also creates a horrific reality for 27 million

Sara Amato, author of the blog post, “My Mother is an Alcoholic. It Took Me Years to Realize How Her Drinking Affected Me”, stated that she was hesitant to put trust in friendships because she her mother had repeatedly let her down. She also said that she never invited peers to her house due to embarrassment of her mother’s alcoholism (Amato, 2015). Bogie Bowles, a drug and alcohol addiction therapist, stated in an interview that children of alcoholics are often shy or overconfident (Bowles, 2015). Both of these extremes can interfere with friendship making. Using Harter’s Self-Perception Profile, the research study affirmed that children of alcoholics reported difficulty making friends (Hussong et al.,

Adult children of alcoholics have many characteristics that reveal that they have had an alcoholic in the family and have suffered because of it. Adult children of alcoholics have very good control over their feelings and behavior. Adult children of alcoholics try to control the feelings and behavior of others as well. The reason they do this is because they are afraid. They are not afraid of wanting to hurt themselves or others, but they fear if they let go of some control their lives will become worse and they will not be able to handle and control situations. The following are characteristics of adult children of alcoholics; fear of emotions or feelings, avoidance of conflict, a high burden of responsibility and constant approval seeking,

The cost of alcohol and substance abuse in the United States reaches heights of four hundred eighty four billion dollars per year (“Magnitude”). That’s about seven hundred eighty times the amount it cost to diagnose and treat sexually transmitted diseases in the year 2000 (Chesson). The sole purpose of this is not to persuade you one way or the other on this topic. Nor is the purpose to apologize for this social issue. The purpose of this writing is to employ data showing the societal effects parental addictions have on children, to show how this data has remained relevant in society, and to show how it is affecting our future members of society.

As depicted in Scott Russell Sanders’s essay, the families of alcoholics are effected immensely. Sanders states: “Why our father, so playful and competent and kind when sober, would choose to ruin himself and punish his family, we could not fathom.” (Sanders 104) “When drunk, our father was clearly in his wrong mind. He became a stranger, as fearful to us as any graveyard lunatic, not quite frothing at the mouth, but fierce enough, quick-tempered, explosive; or else he grew maudlin and weepy, which frightened us nearly as much. ”(Sanders 104h6)

At home, families are destroyed because of alcohol. Seventy six million American adults have been exposed to alcoholism in the family. Alcoholism is responsible for more family problems than any other single cause. According to Silverstein (1990), one of every four families has problems with alcohol. Many children grow up having alcohol problems from being exposed to it at such an early age. Spouses are forced to watch their loved one fade away.

When a child is in an environment, in which drug abuse or alcoholism takes place he or she has an increased risk of becoming an alcoholic or substance abuser himself or herself. In this type of environment the child may also be forced to use the substances by the addicted abusing parents. The parents who use drugs and alcohol to cope with their lives will teach their children to cope with their lives the same way. This may cause the child to be taken out of a home and put into a foster care, or may be an institution. “Statistics show that 43 percent of adult Americans have been exposed to alcoholism and drug addiction in their families” (NCA, 2009).

Studies on aspects such as the individual’s environment suggest a certain type of environment may play a major contributing factor in developing alcoholism. It has been illustrated that children of alcoholics are at great risk of being exposed to an unhealthy family system. The more time a person spends in such a negative environment, the more susceptible he/she becomes to trying alcohol and in the long run of becoming alcoholics, marrying an alcoholic or doing both and so continuing the vicious cycle (Bowden, 1985).

Alcoholism is a disease that the person affected has no control over. Unfortunately, this means that the people close to the alcoholic have even less control, and they experience many negative side effects by living with a person who is addicted to alcohol. Children have a limited understanding of the situation due to their lack of maturity and experience, and they usually suffer from long term consequences because of it. Children of alcoholics experience increased emotional and economic hardships and challenges in their lives. However, as they grow up and mature, counseling, self-reflection, group support and spirituality can help them to heal and move on with their lives.

Women who abuse alcohol are not only hurting themselves and their unborn babies. Existing children can be effected by a mother who drinks too much as well. They may be neglected and forced to care for themselves and possibly younger siblings resulting in lost childhood. Chaotic and inconsistent home life may result in needing control and perfectionist tendencies. Children who grew up with an alcohol abusing parent are at a greater risk of developing an AUD themselves. They are also more likely to suffer from depression and/or anxiety, have difficulty in relationships, marry a substance user, academic problems, and other behavioral problems (AAMFT, 2015).

In the textbook, Families and Change: Coping With Stressful Events and Transitions, chapter seven goes in depth to reflect on families coping with alcohol abuse. The textbook is straightforward about children with one or both alcoholic parents in treatment and recovery from alcohol abuse. As much as the substance abusing parent needs help, so do the children in the family (Price, Price and McKenry, 2010, p. 152). Relative to the Green family, the authors discuss alcohol-specific effects involving the parent’s relationship to alcohol and how these behaviors are related to their child’s behavior and cognition (Price, Price & McKenry, 2010, p. 143). Simply put, there is a direct correlation between parents who abuse alcohol and the likelihood that their children will develop an addiction to alcohol. According to Price, Price and McKenry (2010), “If parental use of alcohol is associated with adolescent use, then parental recovery from alcoholism or cessation of alcohol-related problems should reflect a reduction in family stress and an alteration in children’s expectancies and alcohol-related behaviors” (p. 147). What this implies is that in theory, if a parent is an alcohol abuser, and their behavior reflects on to their children, then in turn the children should also adapt the same behavior when a parent ceases the use of alcohol.

A study by Wolin and associates determined that children who originated from alcoholic families were not able to function in terms of behavior and emotion as successfully as those who originated from non alcoholic families. In the study, children of alcoholics scored notably lower when researchers looked at their behavioral and emotional

According to Google, alcoholism is an addiction to the consumption of alcoholic elixir, or a mental illness and compulsive behavior resulting from alcohol dependence. You can find alcoholism everywhere; it causes automobile accidents, exterminates families, and almost everyone knows someone who suffers. This distinctiveness, caused by the horrors that only the person knows, whether it stems from abuse as a child, the lost of a loved one, or other horror itself. Many studies concerning why and how people develop an addiction to alcohol, and we know why people turn to this behavior, but what are a few of the effects of alcoholism in the individual's family, body, and career?

Many people who have a drinking problem don’t realize, or care about the long-term effects their addiction has on those around them. Children who grow up with an alcoholic likely face feelings of abandonment, and find it hard to trust that someone will be there for them. There is nothing more exciting for a child than showing their parents how hard they have worked. When they do a good job, they want them to be there to celebrate their achievements. For the children of alcoholics, that excitement often turns to disappointment when Mom and Dad don’t show up again. They worked so hard to remember all their lines in the play, but no one showed up to watch. Even though they promised they wouldn’t miss this one. These parents become emotionally unavailable for their children. Their children can’t depend on them to physically or emotionally be there for them. Even if an alcoholic parent is physically there, often, they are likely intoxicated and not themselves. These children may find that it’s easier to rely on themselves rather than their parents. After facing years of uncertainty, they no longer can trust that their parent will keep a promise as simple as showing up to their school play. How can they trust that they will be there when they really need them? This constant let down can affect a person even into adulthood. The inability to trust someone can carry over into personal