Alcoholism accounts for problems in society beyond the immediate consequences suffered solely by the alcoholic. Violence, economic impact to work environments, traffic accidents, and domestic problems are all caused or exacerbated by the use of alcohol (who. int). Among those impacted the most are the millions of children of alcoholics.
“According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) 7. 5 million children — about 10. percent of the US population under age 18 — live with a parent who suffered an alcohol use disorder (The Mama Bear Effect, 2013). ” A child living with an alcoholic can be subjected to verbal, physical, and sexual abuse. The poisoned environment can lead to long term psychological harm, behavioral problems, and problems with substance abuse. Unfortunately, growing into adulthood doesn’t automatically erase the impact of being raised in an environment with an alcoholic.
The damage suffered through childhood and adolescence carries on well into adulthood. This paper will define the various roles played in these households impacted by alcohol abuse, explain the damage that can take place in childhood, how that damage can be arried into adulthood, and will discuss steps that can be taken to get help for children from these households. Finally, I found myself making unexpected statements in the conclusion based upon information gleaned from this research.
Define the Roles In order to discuss the impact of alcohol abuse in the household on children, both when young and after reaching adulthood, we need to understand exactly what alcohol dependence is and how “children of alcoholics” (COA) as well as “adult children of alcoholics” (ACOA) are defined. COAS are simply individuals under 18 years of age with at least one alcoholic parent while ACOAS are at least 18. According to the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD), alcoholism is a “chronic disease with genetic, psychosocial, and environmental factors influencing its development and manifestations (Flavin & Morse, 1991).
The alcoholic can be preoccupied with drinking, have constant or intermittent issues controlling consumption, and may continue drinking despite negative consequences. Finally, the alcoholic often denies a problem exists. (Flavin & Morse, 1991) Alcoholism in a Family Setting “Alcoholism is responsible for more family problems than any other single cause” and in America “one of every four families as problems with alcohol” leading to an estimated seventy-six million adults exposed to alcoholism in the family (Parsons, 2003).
The negative effect of the alcoholic’s actions, also known as harms, can be felt across four general domains: psychological, physical, social, and practical (Berends, Ferris, & Laslett, 2014). Psychological harms, the most common according to studies, can include elevated stress, the feeling of being threatened even though no actual physical harm occurs, emotional pain from insults, overall neglect, and disappointment from the lack of follow through of expected tasks.
Actual physical harm, ncluding forced or coerced sexual acts, comprise the physical domain. Social harms can take the form of embarrassment in public gatherings, drunken behavior that leads to a negative impact on social occasions, or a need to cut off relations with the drinker due to their harmful behavior. The practical domain contains issues with physical risk due to drinking such as drunk driving, property damage, and the loss or damage of precious material goods (Berends, Ferris, & Laslett, 2014).
As apparent in the above paragraph, having a member of the family with a problem with drinking can effect the family ynamic in myriad ways across various familial relationships including partner (spouse), extended family, siblings, and, our focus, children. The Effects on Children of Alcoholics The definition of COAS isn’t very clearly defined because it is any child with a parent or parental figure who uses alcohol to the extent that it causes problems in the child’s life.
In fact, the child doesn’t need to still co-habitat with the drinking parent to continue to be impacted by alcohol abuse. For example, divorce, abandonment, legal repercussions or death can all remove the problem parent from the child’s immediate urroundings, but even that separation can leave lasting impact (The American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress, 2014). The effects of alcohol abuse on a child can begin in the womb. The blood alcohol level of an unborn baby is the same as the woman carrying her, potentially leading to Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS).
Children effected by FAS can have physical deformities, damaged nervous systems, and mental difficulties such as short attention spans, memory, and poor problem solving ability. In addition, children with FAS can have difficulty with social skills, coping with frustration, and can be hyperactive Parsons, 2003). “According to the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, about 5,000 babies are born each year with severe damage caused by FAS; another 35,000 babies are born with… milder forms (iji & Rakesh, 2012).
Unfortunately, a child unaffected by FAS is still at great risk for other psychological issues caused by an environment dominated by an alcoholic. Personality traits consistent with low self esteem are common. The child often feels inadequate and judges his or herself too harshly leading to being overly self- critical. Depression and anxiety are often the result. (Jiji & Rakesh, 2012) Relationships with others are greatly impacted. Because of the disfunction of their own family, COAS often don’t know how to enjoy everyday fun social activities.
Their parents have often let them down repeatedly and lies are a part of daily life. Mistrust of those closest to them can hinder the ability to have intimate relationships where emotional attachment and reliance on another individual are requirements. Sadly, because parents often are not physically or emotionally present, COAS can stick to unhealthy relationships due to fears of abandonment. These children may seek constant approval of others through verachieving behavior at the expense of their own happiness.
Finally, they can, sadly, feel different from and not as good as everyone around them, avoiding social situations and leading to an inability to make friends and meet people (iji & Rakesh, 2012). The education level of COAS are often negatively impacted. The chaotic home environment isn’t conducive to good studying habits and their inability to form relationships with others impacts the child’s ability to communicate with teachers and other students. This can lead to repeated school years or dropping out of school altogether.
Studies have shown that hirty percent of females who didn’t complete high school were COAS and only twenty percent of male COAS attended college (Parsons, 2003). A study found a relation between parental alcohol use and poor academic performance due to low levels of task orientation, emotional stress, low levels of family organization, and low parental involvement (McGrath, Watson, & Chassin, 1999). Alcohol can remove inhibitions from acts of physical abuse. In addition to the psychological abuse discussed above, children suffer verbal, sexual, and physical abuse.
One study found physical injuries in COAS at 1. 5 to 3 times higher than other hildren (Nagaraja, Begum, Venkataramana, & Gangadharappa, 2001). While studies are inconclusive regarding a correlation between physical abuse and alcohol, it is believed alcohol contributes in several ways. It interferes with communication between family members resulting in misinterpretation, incorrectly perceived threats, and a lack of consideration of the consequences of violence.
Alcohol is often used as a scapegoat to absolve the perpetrator of responsibility of violent acts and the “disinhibition hypothesis proposes that alcohol’s pharmacological actions on the brain interfere with the actions of those brain centers that control (i. . , inhibit) socially unacceptable behaviors (Widom & Hiller-Sturmhofel). ” Finally, studies have shown that women who experienced childhood victimization are more likely to have alcohol related problems in adulthood, leading to our next topic (Widom & Hiller- Sturmhofel).
Adult Children of Alcoholics It is of little surprise that the physiological and relationship inhibiting effects of being a child of an alcoholic can lead into adulthood. The same issues encountered in childhood with self esteem and the ability to have trusting, fulfilling relationships can continue throughout one’s life. In addition to these sychological issues, ACOAS are between 2 and 10 times more likely to develop alcoholism. This trend also reaches the abuse of other substances such as illegal drugs and tobacco.
There is evidence to suggest that ACOAS are “are at elevated risk for both depression and anxiety (Sher),” though more studies are required for conclusive evidence. In general, ACOAS often fall into one of three categories of personality traits. The “Neuroticism/Negative Emotionality” group includes tendencies towards depression and anxiety, sensitivity to criticism, and self-blame or guilt (Sher).
“Impulsivity/Disinhibition” includes “sensation seeking, ggressiveness, and impulsivity (Sher)” which can lead to risky behavior and is directly related to alcoholism. Extraversion/ Sociability” accounts for those with outgoing, dominating, high energy personalities, though there is not sufficient evidence that these traits are necessarily greater in ACOAs than non-ACOAS (Sher). Overall, outside of the increased chance of alcoholism, there doesn’t appear to be a great deal of difference between those with and without alcoholic parents for psychological disorders (Sher). That doesn’t mean ACOAs, as well as their younger brethren, should not seek assistance.
