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Contribution to Book
Alcoholic and Nonalcoholic Parents’ Orientations toward Conformity and Conversation as Predictors of Attachment and Psychological Well-Being for Adult Children of Alcoholics
Contemporary Studies on Relationships, Health, and Wellness (2018)
  • Marie C. Haverfield
  • Jennifer A. Theiss
Abstract
Alcoholism is a family illness that has implications for the physical, emotional, and psychological well-being of the spouse and children of individuals with alcoholism (Johnson & Stone, 2009). One in four families in the United States is affected by alcoholism (Grant, 2000), with approximately 26.8 million children growing up with a parent with alcoholism (Alcohol and Drug Programs [ADP], 2007). Children of parents with alcoholism tend to experience more frequent depression and struggle to develop healthy intimate relationships when compared to children of parents without alcoholism (Drejer, Theikjaard, Teasedale, Schulsinger, & Goodwin, 1985). Adult children of alcoholics (ACoA) who had a distressed relationship with a parent report feelings of alienation, poor communication ability, difficulty trusting others, increased emotional longing, negative attitudes toward the parent, and increased anxiety (Kelley et al., 2011; Straussner & Fewell, 2011). Taken together, these findings suggest that the interpersonal conditions in families coping with alcoholism can have a lasting effect on the well-being of ACoA. Thus, the goal of this study is to examine how communication patterns in families coping with a parent’s alcoholism are associated with psychological outcomes for ACoA in adulthood.
Publication Date
2018
Editor
Jennifer A. Theiss & Kathryn Greene
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Series
Advances in Personal Relationships
ISBN
9781108304344
DOI
10.1017/9781108304344.015
Publisher Statement
This material has been published in Contemporary Studies on Relationships, Health, and Wellness edited by Jennifer A. Theiss and Kathryn Greene [http://doi.org/10.1017/9781108304344.015]. This version is free to view and download for private research and study only. Not for re-distribution or re-use.
Citation Information
Marie C. Haverfield and Jennifer A. Theiss. "Alcoholic and Nonalcoholic Parents’ Orientations toward Conformity and Conversation as Predictors of Attachment and Psychological Well-Being for Adult Children of Alcoholics" Contemporary Studies on Relationships, Health, and Wellness (2018) p. 291 - 314
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/marie-haverfield/6/