Parents may give the child the impression that there is a terrible secret at home. The ashamed child does not invite friends home and is afraid to ask anyone for help. Because the drinking parent has disappointed the child many times, he or she often does not trust others. The alcoholic parent will change suddenly from being loving to angry, regardless of the child's behavior. A regular daily schedule, which is very important for a child, does not exist because bedtimes and mealtimes are constantly changing, and there is nothing concrete for the child to grasp. The child feels anger at the alcoholic parent for drinking, and may be angry to the non-alcoholic parent for lack of support and protection. A feeling of loneliness and helplessness is present in regards to changing the situation.
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Studies have also shown that some of the other behaviors are as follows:
- Withdrawal from classmates
- Delinquent behavior, such as stealing or violence
- Frequent physical complaints, such as headaches or stomachaches
- Abuse of drugs or alcohol
- Aggression towards other children
- Depression or suicidal thoughts or behavior (SANCA. 1999)
Effects of Single Parent Family
The study of Billingham, Wilson, and Gross show that in the single parent family there is an increase in the use of negative substances on the adolescent. Not only is the single parent family part of the negative impact but the monogamous relationship also provides factors that lead to the downfall of the adolescent concerning substance abuse. These factors include family tradition, a history of substance abuse, or a dysfunctional family.
Individuals from divorced families differ significantly from individuals from intact families. Individuals from divorced families were more likely to select drinking and driving consequences. The divorced parents relate to negative consequences of drinking in college that are more subtle, yet
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more problematic, then simple issues such as the “amount of alcohol being consumed.” Individuals from divorced families are more likely to drive after having several drinks, while knowing they have had too much. It is estimated that two thirds of first marriages will be disrupted by separation or divorce, and about half of all American children born during the 1980’s, many of them today’s teens, will experience their parents divorce. (West and Printz. 1987) A new long-term study of divorce found that children of divorced parents continue to suffer negative effects from the family break up into adulthood. The study by Dr. Judith S. Wallerstein and Dr. Julia Lewis, was presented at the Second World Congress of Family Law and the Rights of Children and Youth, held in San Francisco June 2-7. Family break up left children less resistant to the fulfillment promised by drugs, alcohol and early sex, these researchers found that half of the children in the sample became involved in serious drugs and alcohol abuse as adolescents, often without and indication that teen parents noticed or cared about their behavior. Entry into adulthood for the children of divorced parents is often a task for which they were poorly prepared and for this they had little help.
A number of studies have found that the children from non-inact
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or non-standard families have a raised risk of substance misuse as well as other problems. A Finnish study showed that the highest risk of adolescent substance use, dependent on the illicit drug abuse treatment were found in 1) families with a father and a stepmother and 2) families in which the adolescent was married and living with him or her spouse. High risks were also found in families where the adolescent lived with a father and no mother figure or lived with a mother and a non-relative. (Isohanni. 1994)
A Canadian study found that adolescents living in single parent or mixed marriage families had an elevated risk of problem or dangerous behavior, although the highest risk was found in adolescents living with neither natural parent. (Birmaher.1996)
At least 7 million American children have alcoholic parents. These children are at greater risk of having emotional problems. Alcoholism runs in the family and children of alcoholics are 4x more likely then other children to become alcoholics.(West and Printz.1987)
Effects of Alcoholic Parents and Improper Care
Problem drinking by parents may contribute to inconsistency and unpredictability in parenting behaviors. Such inconsistency in parenting may undermine a child’s sense of order, control,
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and stability in the family environment, reducing both feelings of self-esteem and perceptions of self-competence. Additionally, parental alcohol abuse may contribute to poorer monitoring of adolescent behaviors. Parental monitoring establishes rules for appropriate and inappropriate behaviors (such as drinking practices, curfew, and household duties), enforces established penalties for violating rules, and oversees friendship and peer-group choices. Parental monitoring helps establish an orderly structure whereby adolescents are more easily able to distinguish healthy from unhealthy choices pertaining to drinking, peer groups, and other forms of risky behavior, such as sexual activity. By decreasing monitoring activities, parental problem drinking may undermine healthy adolescent adjustment. Likewise, problem drinking also may provide lower levels of parental nurturing and emotional availability, thereby increasing the risk for adolescent drinking. (Johnson. 1996) Problem-drinking parents frequently demonstrate a greater tolerance of adolescent drinking and other substance use, which, in turn, leads to an escalation of adolescent alcohol use which may lead to more alcohol-related adverse social consequences, such as problems at school or with legal authorities.(Foxcroft. 1991)
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Genetics
There is significant evidence of a genetic component in the development of alcoholism. Children of alcoholics (COA’s) suffering from alcoholism exhibit more severe cases and are far lower functioning than those without a family history of the disease. (Tabakoff, 1983) Sons and siblings of alcoholics are 25-50% more likely to develop the disease than the general population. (McKusik, 2002) Studies with a strain of mice selectively breed to an “alcohol preferring strain” showed a preference for a dilute ethanol solution over water up to 80% of the time. In the same study, transplantation of a fertilized ovum from a “preferring” strain into the uterus of a “non
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preferring” strain still produced offspring preferring the ethanol to water, ruling out the factors associated with pre and postnatal care. (Jennison, 2001) The genetic link has yet to be identified, though possible metabolic causes have been suggested. Simple Mendelian inheritance has long since been rejected, but more complicated inheritance patterns are difficult to research without controlled breeding experiments, an obvious impossibility with humans. One possibility involves dopamine receptors in the brain, controlled by a gene known as DRD2. A study by Blum et al. (1990) compared 35 alcoholics and 35 non-alcoholics for two different alleles of the gene. Blum also found that 77% of the alcoholic group contained the A1 allele, while 70% of the non-alcoholics did not.
What Today’s Society Is Doing?
Until recently, children of alcoholics weren't even considered all that different from other kids with problems. Often, they were ignored by treatment programs, which focused on the alcoholic parent.
Now that's changing. Today, professionals recognize the special problems and needs of children of alcoholics (or COA's), and family therapy has become a big part of alcoholism rehabilitation.
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Researchers are trying to treat the problem by trying to get the (COA’s) to rebuilding self-esteem and relearn to communicate and trust and love. They begin with identifying what, exactly, went wrong in the first place. Since learning about the dynamics of alcoholism is important to the process, many therapists recommend such self-help programs as Al-Anon, Children of Alcoholics, or Adult Children of Alcoholics.
Professionals recommend dietary changes, and such stress-reduction techniques as meditation, aerobics, and visualization or affirmation exercises. (Turney.2000)
“Whatever form treatment takes, children of alcoholics need to develop a healthy sense of self-esteem being free of guilt, fear, and blame so they can see themselves as okay even when those around them may not be.” (Turney.2000)
Once they have learnt to see the past for what it is, past, and the present for what it is, a present, you're not going to find a good reason to be stopped by anything at all, especially mom or dad's problem or the memories of it. (A.C.S.W.S.O. 2003)
Each of us may have had to grow up playing our parents' games, questioning our value, living in the shadow of alcoholism or chemical dependency.
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But that doesn't mean we're stuck there. And even if we did learn to pretend that things were fine when they weren't, it's okay to stop pretending now. (ACA-ACOA Discussion Group.2003)
It is evident that parental alcohol abuse may have a range of possible unpleasant effects on adolescents. Without appropriate parent-child or family based interventions, these disruptive, alcohol-influenced parenting behaviors may contribute to depression and anxiety disorders and misbehavior among children and adolescents.
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