Psychological adjustment among adult children of alcoholics: a cross-cultural study.

In this study, we compared Hispanic and Caucasian college students identified as adult children of alcoholics in terms of psychological adjustment using the Diagnostic Inventory of Personality and Symptoms (DIPS; Vincent, 1985). Results of the study suggested that, among college students, Caucasian men seem to be at a greater risk for using alcohol and drugs than Caucasian women or Hispanic men and women.     

Psychological Adjustment Among Adult Children of Alcoholics: A Cross-Cultural Study

In this study, we compared Hispanic and Caucasian college students identified as adult children of alcoholics in terms of psychological adjustment using the Diagnostic Inventory of Personality and Symptoms (DIPS; Vincent, 1985). Results of the study suggested that, among college students, Caucasian men seem to be at a greater risk for using alcohol and drugs than Caucasian women or Hispanic men and women.     

Searching for an environmental effect of parental alcoholism on offspring alcohol use disorder: a genetically informed study of children of alcoholics

The children-of-twins design was used to isolate a potentially causal environmental impact of having an alcoholic parent on offspring alcohol use disorder, by an examination of whether the children of alcoholics were at a higher risk for alcohol use disorders than were the children of nonalcoholic parents, even after correlated familial factors were controlled. Participants were 1,224 male and female twins from 836 twin pairs selected from the Australian Twin Registry, 2,334 of the twins' 18-39-year-old offspring, and 983 spouses of the twins. Lifetime histories of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.) alcohol use disorders were obtained by structured, psychiatric, telephone interviews conducted individually with each of the family members. Comparisons of the offspring of twins who were discordant for alcoholism indicated that there was no longer a statistically significant difference between the children of alcoholics and the children of nonalcoholics after genetic and family environmental factors correlated with having an alcoholic parent were controlled. The results of this study suggest that the direct causal effect of being exposed to an alcoholic parent on offspring alcohol use disorder is modest at best.     

The Patterns of Adaptation While Growing Up Under Parental Alcoholism: A Grounded Theory

Parental alcohol dependency negatively influences children, and a number of studies have examined the numerous childhood adversities and negative developmental outcomes among children of alcoholics. However, few studies have explored how children of alcoholics adapt to their own lives while growing up in an alcoholic family. For this reason, we examined the psychosocial adaptation process that Korean adult children of alcoholics (KCOAs) had experienced since they were young, which we in turn used to generate a theory of the adaptation process of KCOAs. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the psychosocial adaptation process of Korean children who grew up with a father with alcohol dependency. A total of 20 volunteer participants were recruited, and either face-to-face or telephone-based semi-structured interviews were conducted based on the participants’ preferences. The interview data were analyzed by using grounded theory methodology. As a result, ‘‘separating my own identity from my father’’ appeared as a core category of KCOAs’ adaptation process. In order to separate themselves from their fathers, they tended to pass through six stages: being trapped, awakening, struggling, blocking, understanding, and separating.     

Adult Children of Alcoholics In and Out of Psychotherapy: Issues of Intimacy and Interpersonal Relationships1

We examined differences between treatment-seeking and nontreatment-seeking adult children of alcoholics (ACOAs) and adult children of nonalcoholics (ACONAs) in regard to numerous aspects of interpersonal and intimate relationships. The subjects were 278 college students, aged 18 to 34. Consistent with many other studies, there were numerous differences between ACOAs in treatment and ACONAs not in treatment, although further analyses confirmed the methodological flaw and confound in such comparisons. There were no significant interactions between ACOA and treatment status, nor between ACOAs and ACONAs, regardless of treatment status, with only one likely chance exception of self-regard (ACONAs not in treatment reported higher self-regard than did ACOAs not in treatment). Finally, those seeking treatment reported significantly less affectional expression, lower self-regard, more depressive traits, and less dating competence and assertiveness compared to those not in treatment regardless of ACOA status. Therefore, treatment-seeking status and not ACOA status account for intimacy and interpersonal problems in this study and probably many others.     

Authoritarianism of Parents and Offspring: Intergenerational Politics and Adjustment to College

The authoritarianism scores (RWA) of parents and their college-aged children were hypothesized to interact to affect the intergenerational transmission of political attitudes and offspring adjustment to college. Parent and offspring dyads who matched on RWA (both scored high or low) agreed about the importance of social events and on the mechanisms by which political attitudes were transmitted from parent to offspring. Disagreeing dyads (parent scored high on RWA and offspring scored low or parent scored low on RWA and offspring scored high) did not show this pattern. In addition, 2-year longitudinal data revealed that offspring who mismatched with their parents on authoritarianism had a more difficult time adjusting to college than did offspring who matched with their parents on authoritarianism. Discussion stresses the importance of examining the implications of home context on the authoritarianism of adolescent children.     

A Spontaneous Request for Treatment by a Group of Adolescents

In this article, we build on our clinical knowledge in working with the adult children of alcoholics, examining the importance of the “alcoholic” family, past and present, to the current functioning of adults who grew up in such an environment. Specifically, we focus on key issues related to the development of family transference in the group therapy setting.     

Family Process as a Mediator of the Negative Effects of Parental Alcoholism on Young Adult Dating Relationships

The effects of parental alcoholism on young adult dating relationship quality (trust, intimacy, commitment, and satisfaction) were considered in the context of the mediating variable of family process (cohesion, conflict resolution, and family competence). A model was tested with a sample of 287 young adults (95 were adult children of alcoholics) that suggested that healthier family process mediates the negative effects of having an alcoholic parent on dating relationship quality. Structural equation modeling results showed that the model fit the data. Young adults from alcoholic families in which family process was less negatively affected by parental alcoholism were less likely to report lower dating relationship quality than those from families in which family process was more negatively affected by parental alcoholism. Parental divorce was directly related to lower relationship quality. Clinical implications for working with young adult children of alcoholics are discussed.     

The effects of familial risk, personality, and expectancies on alcohol use and abuse

This study tested a structural model of the association between familial risk, personality risk, alcohol expectancies, and alcohol abuse in a sample of 224 young adult offspring of alcoholics and 209 offspring of nonalcoholics. The results provided support for 2 personality-risk pathways, a social deviance proneness and an excitement/pleasure seeking path, that accounted for a significant portion of the association between a familial alcoholism and alcohol abuse. The path from familial alcoholism to social deviance proneness lead directly to alcohol problems. The path from familial alcoholism to excitement/pleasure seeking was associated with increased drinking, which, in turn, was associated with alcohol problems. Positive alcohol expectancies accounted for part of the association between excitement seeking and alcohol use. The results suggest 2 different biopsychosocial mechanisms that elevate risk for abuse in the offspring of alcoholics.     

Adult Children of Alcoholics and Psychological Distress

In this study, the author investigated the relationship between parental alcoholism and psychological distress and the mediating effects of social support and hardiness. The sample (N = 228 college students) consisted of n = 62 adult children of alcoholics (ACAs) and n = 166 non-ACAs. Data analysis indicated that parental alcoholism was positively related to psychological distress. Consistent with expectations, higher levels of social support and hardiness were associated with lower levels of psychological distress. No mediating effects of social support and hardiness, however, were found. Implications for current theories and therapeutic approaches that regard ACAs as being at increased risk for psychological distress are discussed.     

感知到亲子间面孔相似性对亲子虐待的影响：一个双重调节模型

由于体内受精,父亲面临着父亲身份不确定性的风险,亲子间面孔相似性是辨别父亲身份的一个常用的有效线索,因此,父亲往往依据亲子间面孔相似性程度调整着亲子投资。而中国传统文化强调重男轻女,因此,父子间面孔相似性比父女间面孔相似性对父亲的亲子投资的预测效应更强。本研究采用自我报告的方法测量了212名中学生感知到亲子间面孔相似性、亲子虐待以及人口学变量。结果表明:（1）感知到的亲子间面孔相似性与亲子虐待中的精神虐待存在显著的相关,与身体虐待的相关没有达到显著水平;（2）父母的性别显著地调节着感知到亲子间面孔相似性对精神虐待的预测,具体而言, 父子（女）间面孔相似性显著地预测父亲的精神虐待,而母子（女）间面孔相似性对母亲精神虐待的预测没有达到显著水平;（3）进一步的分析表明,子女的性别显著地调节着感知到父子（女）间面孔相似性对父亲精神虐待的影响,具体而言,父子间面孔相似性显著地预测父亲对儿子的精神虐待,但父女间面孔相似性对父亲对女儿的精神虐待的预测没有达到显著水平。研究结果支持并拓展了父亲身份不确定性假设。     

感知到亲子间面孔相似性对亲子虐待的影响：一个双重调节模型

由于体内受精,父亲面临着父亲身份不确定性的风险,亲子间面孔相似性是辨别父亲身份的一个常用的有效线索,因此,父亲往往依据亲子间面孔相似性程度调整着亲子投资。而中国传统文化强调重男轻女,因此,父子间面孔相似性比父女间面孔相似性对父亲的亲子投资的预测效应更强。本研究采用自我报告的方法测量了212名中学生感知到亲子间面孔相似性、亲子虐待以及人口学变量。结果表明:（1）感知到的亲子间面孔相似性与亲子虐待中的精神虐待存在显著的相关,与身体虐待的相关没有达到显著水平;（2）父母的性别显著地调节着感知到亲子间面孔相似性对精神虐待的预测,具体而言, 父子（女）间面孔相似性显著地预测父亲的精神虐待,而母子（女）间面孔相似性对母亲精神虐待的预测没有达到显著水平;（3）进一步的分析表明,子女的性别显著地调节着感知到父子（女）间面孔相似性对父亲精神虐待的影响,具体而言,父子间面孔相似性显著地预测父亲对儿子的精神虐待,但父女间面孔相似性对父亲对女儿的精神虐待的预测没有达到显著水平。研究结果支持并拓展了父亲身份不确定性假设。     

Cognitive ability and risk for alcoholism: short-term memory capacity and intelligence moderate personality risk for alcohol problems

This study tested the hypothesis that short-term memory (STM) capacity moderates the effect of social deviance on alcohol problems. Personality, cognitive ability, and alcohol use and abuse were assessed in the adult offspring of alcoholics (FHPs; n = 153) and the adult offspring of nonalcoholics (FHNs; n = 150). The results revealed that STM capacity moderated the effect of social deviance on alcohol problems, independent of intelligence. High social deviance and high-STM participants had fewer alcohol problems than did high social deviance and low-STM participants. Intelligence also moderated the effect of social deviance on alcohol problems in the same way, independent of STM capacity. FHPs had lower IQs, lower verbal ability, and more response perseveration than FHNs. The results suggest that working memory capacity moderates the risk for alcoholism associated with disinhibited traits.     

Youth bulges in communities: the effects of age structure on adolescent civic knowledge and civic participation

Youth bulges, cohorts of 16- to 25-year-olds disproportionately large relative to the adult population, are linked with social upheaval in historical research. Limited civic knowledge and heightened civic participation in adolescence, resulting from socialization in communities with large populations of children, are hypothesized to be developmental precursors to the political activism characteristic of youth constituting bulges. In two studies with nationally representative samples, adolescents in communities with disproportionately large populations of children were found to have less civic knowledge than equivalent adolescents in communities without large populations of children. In both studies, civic participation was predicted by the interaction of a community's proportion of children and its poverty level. Similar patterns were identified in a third study using country-level data. Together, the findings demonstrate that the youthfulness of communities and countries influences civic development.     

Children's Representation of Child and Adult Knowledge

Do children think that adult knowledge subsumes or only partially overlaps child knowledge? Sixty-four 4- and 6-year-old children were asked either whether a child and an adult know the answers to questions tapping adult- and child-specific knowledge (Experiment 1) or to whom each question should be addressed (Experiment 2). Children were also asked directly about the existence of child-specific knowledge. The experiments provided converging evidence that beliefs about child-specific knowledge are relatively limited among 4-year-olds but become well articulated by age 6. The findings contribute to understanding the development of children's beliefs about the relation between knowledge and age.     

A parent-offspring adoption study of cognitive abilities in early childhood

Do cognitive abilities in early childhood relate genetically and/or environmentally to isomorphic abilities in adulthood? Are specific cognitive abilities diffentiated in early childhood in terms of their prediction of adult cognitive abilities? The present study, the first behavioral genetic analysis of specific cognitive abilities in early childhood, explored these questions using parent-offspring data for 186 adopted children and 151 nonadopted children tested in the longitudinal Colorado Adoption Project at 3 years of age and 162 adopted children and 138 nonadopted children tested at 4 years. The children's Stanford-Binet IQ and scores for four specific cognitive abilities (verbal, spatial, perceptual speed, and memory) were correlated with corresponding measures for their parents—the biological and adoptive parents of the adopted children and the natural parents of the nonadopted children. Significant correlations were found between biological mothers' IQ and the IQ of their adopted away offspring at 3 and 4 years of age, suggesting genetic influence for IQ. However, specific cognitive abilities yielded no significant correlations between biological mothers and their adopted-away offspring. These results suggest that substantial genetic continuity exists for IQ from early childhood to adulthood, but not for specific cognitive abilities.     

Outcomes for children with lesbian or gay parents. A review of studies from 1978 to 2000

Twenty-three empirical studies published between 1978 and 2000 on nonclinical children raised by lesbian mothers or gay fathers were reviewed (one Belgian/Dutch, one Danish, three British, and 18 North American). Twenty reported on offspring of lesbian mothers, and three on offspring of gay fathers. The studies encompassed a total of 615 offspring (age range 1.5-44 years) of lesbian mothers or gay fathers and 387 controls, who were assessed by psychological tests, questionnaires or interviews. Seven types of outcomes were found to be typical: emotional functioning, sexual preference, stigmatization, gender role behavior, behavioral adjustment, gender identity, and cognitive functioning. Children raised by lesbian mothers or gay fathers did not systematically differ from other children on any of the outcomes. The studies indicate that children raised by lesbian women do not experience adverse outcomes compared with other children. The same holds for children raised by gay men, but more studies should be done.     

Preservation of implicit memory in adult children of alcoholics

The authors investigated implicit memory in 21 adult children of alcoholics (ACAs) and 24 control individuals (all college undergraduates) who performed a serial reaction time task (SRT) to evaluate their implicit memory performance and their formation of new associations. Each group was presented with 5 blocks of 100 trials per block in which Blocks 1-4 contained a 10-item repeating sequence; Block 5 was a pseudo-random sequence. The latency difference between Block 4 and Block 5 presumably measure implicit memory. The amount of implicit memory did not differ (in ms) between the ACAs (M = 55 ms) and the controls (M = 67 ms). Implicit memory (at least as measured by the SRT task) appears to be preserved in ACAs.     

Characteristics of children of alcoholics: putative risk factors, substance use and abuse, and psychopathology.

A sample of 253 children of alcoholics (COAs) and 237 children of nonalcoholics (non-COAs) were compared on alcohol and drug use, psychopathology, cognitive ability, and personality. COAs reported more alcohol and drug problems, stronger alcohol expectancies, higher levels of behavioral undercontrol and neuroticism, and more psychiatric distress in relation to non-COAs. They also evidenced lower academic achievement and less verbal ability than non-COAs. COAs were given Diagnostic Interview Schedule alcohol diagnoses more frequently than non-COAs. The relation between paternal alcoholism and offspring alcohol involvement was mediated by behavioral undercontrol and alcohol expectancies. Although gender differences were found, there were few Gender X Family History interactions; the effects of family history of alcoholism were similar for men and women. When gender effects were found, they showed greater family history effects for women.