and non-dependent problem drinking children. This demonstrates
that children of alcoholics have a tendency toward alcoholism,
but not problem drinking. A significant environmental factor
encountered in the study was that ACOA’s in blue collar
professions had more of a tendency toward alcoholism than their
white collar counterparts. Overall, the adult children who were
characterized by heavy drinking parents and lower socioeconomic
status had a strong tendency toward heavy drinking and alcohol
related problems themselves.
Yet another study, by Parker & Harford (1988), examined
adult children of alcohol abusers and their difficulties with
alcohol-related problems, marital disruption, and depression.
Again, parental alcohol abuse was a significant predictor of
alcohol-related problems in the adult children. Men with less
family income were more likely to be dependent problem drinkers.
This was correlative with their brief report of the year before
(Parker & Harford, 1987), which yielded the same results. The
study also points to the significant need of assessing the
effects of different types of parental drinking on the
offspring. The authors point to research by Cloninger and
associates (1981), which is also reviewed in this paper, as
indicative of the differing risk factors to which the offspring
of varying types of alcoholics were exposed. Cloninger et al.
in their Swedish adoption study found that the children involved
were placed at risk by varying factors. They also discussed the
existence of Type I and Type II alcoholics. The Type I’s were
characterized by an age of onset greater than age 25 and a high
dependency on alcohol. The Type II’s had an early age of onset
and a relatively low dependence on alcohol. Parker & Harford
suggest the possibility of dividing ACOA’s into groups of
low-dependent and high-dependent drinkers to determine a
possible environmental influence that may cause a shift from
Type II alcoholism to Type I.
Personality variables as risk factors in the development of
alcoholism in ACOA’s are seen as essential considerations.
According to Rogosch et al. (1990), these personality variables
must be specified considering the role they play in mediating
and moderating between familial history and alcohol abuse.
First, they indicate the existence of research that supports
basic personality characteristics that indicate a genetic
predisposition to alcoholism. Their study did not support this
idea. They found, instead, that personality characteristics may
tend to be moderators of ACOA alcohol use. High levels of
self-awareness may have a tendency to allow individuals to be
more aware of the possible risks of their drinking behaviors due
to their family histories. In other words, family history and
self-awareness combine to protect individuals from engaging in
drinking behaviors. Conversely, a combination of family history
risk and aggressive, undercontrolled personality factors combine
to predict the degree of alcohol involvement and negative social
or societal consequences an ACOA will experience.
Summary
The findings of most of the reviewed studies indicated
significant correlations between parental drinking styles and
drinking styles of their adult children. As a result, this
review tends to confirm my assumption that parental alcoholism
has a direct (and sometimes indirect) effect on the drinking
styles of their children. Many of the studies examined the
biological basis for the transmission of alcoholism. The
articles reviewed did not, however, include material concerning
specific neurological and genetic research. This research,
while relevant to this subject area, was seen as exceedingly
technical and, essentially, beyond the scope of this brief
review.
The consensus among the research community seems to be that
alcoholism is significantly influenced by genetics.
Additionally, drinking patterns also tend to be inherited,
although they may be influenced equally by biological and
environmental factors. The research reviewed was representative
of various methods of sample selection for their studies. Some
of the studies selected from community samples, others from
universities, and others from treatment settings. As a result,
the findings may be generalizable to society as a whole.
Additionally, the studies span a significant period of time and
results remain relatively consistent. For example, studies
conducted in 1989 may have yielded similar results as a study
conducted in 1981.
Conclusion
The literature makes a strong case for the existence of a
familial predisposition to alcoholism. It also suggests
correlations between parental drinking styles and ACOA drinking
styles. None of the articles disputed these correlations. An
interesting research statistic that I encountered in my brief
review was that, in terms of personality type, ACOA’s were not
significantly different from non-ACOA’s. This seems odd
considering the fact that ACOA’s tend to have generally higher
levels of drinking than non-ACOA’s. The primary indicators of
personality type differences, it would seem, may tend to emerge
more readily within a treatment setting. Most of the current
literature that discusses ACOA’s in terms of their “abnormal”
characteristics is derived from clinical practice and not
scientific research.
The future research in the area of ACOA’s and their
inherited drinking styles might focus on the complex interaction
between genetic and environmental influences. Also,
consideration of different types of parental alcoholism might be
investigated. The studies of Cloninger et al. (1981) seem to
indicate the need for this type of research. Additional
articles confirm this assertion.
In my opinion, we have only scratched the surface in
studying the effects of parental drinking on the offspring.
Obviously, this review has discussed only one aspect of the
alcoholic parent-ACOA relationship. As therapists and
researchers in the chemical dependency field, we must always be
aware of the influences exerted upon the children of alcoholics.
This clinical population tends to be the most highly
represented group within alcoholism treatment settings today and
continuous discussion and research on ACOA’s is necessary.
Parental Alcoholism as a Determinant of
Drinking Styles in Their Adult Children: A Review
Running head: PARENTAL ALCOHOLISM AS A DETERMINANT OF
DRINKING
Parental Alcoholism as a Determinant of
Drinking Styles in Their Adult Children: A review
Considerable research has been conducted in recent years on
the personality characteristics of adult and adolescent children
of alcoholics ( Berkowitz & Perkins, 1988; Seefeldt & Lyon,
1992). In order for us to examine some of the literature
concerning the drinking patterns of adult children, we will
begin by examining other defining traits that are seen as
generally characteristic of adult children of alcoholics. Adult
children will henceforth be referred to as ACOA’S.
An important factor in addressing any issue related to
ACOA’s is a definition of alcoholism (Shuckit, 1987). The
A.P.A. (1987) in its definition of alcoholism requires symptoms
such as heavy drinking over a time, the inability to stop
drinking at will, major life problems, tolerance to drinking,
impaired social or occupational functioning, and withdrawal
symptoms upon quitting use. Shuckit points to the fact that
alcoholism has been defined as genetic in nature by many
studies. This viewpoint allows us to begin a review of the
offspring of alcoholics and their possible genetic
predisposition to alcoholism. Another consideration in the
discussion of children of alcoholics and their tendencies toward
alcoholism is
the environmental factors involved in growing up in an
alcoholic home. These environmental factors have been more
difficult to research and, as a result, have been documented
less frequently than heredity and genetics. Although this
review will focus primarily on the possible biological basis for
the familial transmission of alcoholism, the environmental
factors will also be examined. For our purposes, we will define
“environmental” as being any external influence encountered by
the children of alcoholics, especially the attitudes and
behaviors of the alcoholic parents.
Early research, such as that of Woititz (1983) indicates
that children of alcoholics are a clearly distinguishable
subgroup with well-defined characteristics. These assumptions
are based primarily on clinical observation during ACOA
treatment. Research has recently shed doubt on the findings of
Woititz and other theorists who delineate specific defining
characteristics of children of alcoholics. The studies by
Berkowitz & Perkins (1988) and Seefeldt & Lyon (1992) both
indicated that children of alcoholics are not definable by their
specific negative set of response styles or personality
characteristics. In other words, COA’s are not a homogeneous
group. Most early research described ACOA’s as individuals who
have developed certain maladaptive behaviors and personality
traits to compensate for extreme dysfunction within the family
system. Much of the recent research has contradicted the work
of Woititz (1983) and has brought the question of “what truly
defines an ACOA?” to the forefront. My goal in the current
discussion will be to present some of the past and present
research on one major characteristic of ACOA’s, their tendency
to inherit drinking styles or alcoholism from their alcoholic
parent or parents (and even grandparents). We will examine
literature by pioneers in the field of children of alcoholics
and by their current successors.
The Early Effects of Parental Alcoholism
An initial subject of relevance in this review is the
effect of parental drinking on children and adolescents. This
information is pertinent since the personality is defined during
childhood and adolescence. We will, hopefully, be able to view
some of the possible precursors to drinking patterns in ACOA’s
in this discussion of children and adolescent substance use and
abuse. A study by Mckenna & Pickens (1981) examined alcoholics
who had parents who were also alcoholics. The results
indicated that children of two alcoholics are more likely to
manifest behavioral problems related to alcoholism than children
of one alcoholic. These individuals are younger upon first
intoxication and usually have a shorter time between first
intoxication and treatment than do children of only one
alcoholic. The results of this study may be attributed to
genetic influences i.e. the presence of alcoholism in both
parents or environmental influences, that is, both parents
modeling the drinking behaviors. A more recent study on
adolescent substance use (Chassin, Rogosch, & Barrera, 1991)
analyzed the relationship of parental alcoholism to adolescent
alcohol and drug use. The results indicated a strong
correlation between recent parental alcohol use and adolescent
alcohol and drug use. The results did not, however,
differentiate among parental psychopathology and environmental
considerations as possible concurrent risk factors. The effects
of alcoholism on parenting skills were seen as pervasive
factors that had a non-specific influence on the outcome of the
study. Paternal alcoholism was found to have a more profound
effect on the drinking behaviors of adolescents than maternal
drinking. Overall, the two reviewed studies tended to
demonstrate a significant correlation between parental
alcoholism and the degree of alcohol involvement in their
children. Although actual drinking was difficult to predict,
the drinking that tended to be problematic was more obvious.
El-Guebaly & Offord (1977) made a comprehensive review of
the literature on the effects of parental drinking on the
offspring. They described the effects of parental drinking on
infants through ACOA’s. Their findings indicated that ACOA’s
seemed to have a tendency toward more psychological distress
than did children of non-drinking parents. This study indicated
the need for more studies that compared ACOA’s to the children
of parents with other psychological disorders. In other words,
the research of that period did not account for other variables
that may have influenced the outcomes of many of the studies.
Genetic Aspects of Alcoholism in ACOA’s
Numerous studies have indicated that ACOA’s have more of a
tendency toward alcoholism than non-ACOA’s. For example, Cotton
(1979) completed a comprehensive review of studies on the rates
of alcoholism in ACOA’s and non-ACOA’s. Most of the studies
indicated higher rates of alcoholism in ACOA’s. Unfortunately,
these studies were unable to account for other mediating
variables in the occurrence of increased rates of alcoholism.
A study by Goodwin (1979) suggested that future research should
focus on not only the genetic transmission of alcoholism, but
also on the concurrent societal conditioning that seems to
predispose individuals for alcoholism. His study consis