Child Alcohol Abuse Research Paper

Many mothers and fathers think that after birth, alcoholism no longer has an effect on their child's life. It may be true that abstaining from the use of alcohol during the pregnancy will prevent the child from birth defects and physical harm before the birth. However, many alcoholic parents neglect to consider is that their abuse or dependency on alcohol can disrupt their children after delivery. Eiden, Edwards and Leonard (2004) report that there is an increase in the "likelihood of early behavior problems among these children leading to antisocial behavior, which in turn is associated with greater substance use problems" (p. 309). The negative impact that alcoholic parents have on the development and lifestyles of their children does
not cease after the birth of the child, but continues to grow as the child does.
Gale Encyclopedia (1996) defines an alcoholic as "a person whose drinking impairs his or her life adjustment, affecting health, personal relationships" (p. 6). Children of alcoholics, more than likely, will have difficulty developing a healthy lifestyle. According to Berger, a former teacher of special education (1993), a healthy development "requires mastering emotional and social tasks at various ages throughout their childhood" (p. 53). In order to do this, experts say they must learn how "to share, to interact, to engage in problem-solving and to separate from parents"(p. 54). Most of these children become deprived of experiences that expose them to these characteristics and thus preventing them from developing in healthy ways. They also need of "parental warmth and support" and, as Eiden (2004) states, "parental alcoholism interferes with being consistently warm and supportive during parent-child interactions" (p. 310). This affects social, educational, emotional and characteristic aspects of children's lives.
Children of alcoholics rarely have close and stable friendships. They have a difficult time engaging in social situations. Torr (2000) points out that these children have extreme difficulty maintaining close relationships because the child has been let down so many times before by their parent and have often learned not to trust others (p. 30). They are afraid of being disappointed again and choose to shy away from close relationships to prevent this from occurring. Children will also sustain from making friends because they are ashamed of their dysfunctional family. According to Berger (1993), "children may avoid making close friends and bringing people home, in order to keep the alcoholic and the problems caused by the alcoholic from being exposed" (p. 52). To these children, home is not a safe haven, it is more of a "hostile environment" (p. 52). Family members argue and yell and the house is often messy. The children are embarrassed at their living situation and do not feel comfortable bringing people over and revealing their family problems.
These children do not just simply grow out of their social and emotional problems, but instead tend to take them a step further.
As these children become teenagers, they still resort to masking their family and personal chaos from anyone on the outside (Berger, 1993, p. 58). Berger (1993) reports that "repeated delays and disappointments, broken promises and outright lies often lead to problems in trusting others or developing close relationships" (p. 58). Even after these teenagers have realized their dilemma, they are often too afraid to ask for help. They feel as though they are inviting an "outsider" in who may "reveal the carefully hidden problem of alcoholism at home" (p.
59).
This unhealthy development carries over into the educational area of these children's lives as well. Rejecting friendships occurs at school as well as at home. Many children view school as the one area in their lives that they can control and, in some cases, become "overachievers," yet at the same time they will remain isolated from others (Torr, 2000, p. 31). While some tend to shy away from social situations and focus more on schoolwork, others feel the need to grab the attention they lack from home. They often participate in activities such as lying, stealing, fighting, truancy and school behavioral problems (Berger, 1993, p. 56). Berger (1993) states that they do this "to cover up their real feelings…pretend they don't care" (p. 56). Many of these children do inadequately in school, in comparison to children with nonalcoholic parents. They tend to have difficulty in passing classes and graduating from high school. Research suggests that this may be a result of the parents' underestimation of their child's ability. This "lack of confidence" may be the cause of their low self-esteem and compulsion for attention (Berger, 1993, p. 56).
With no one "safe" to turn to, children of alcoholics have many pent-up emotions. Many feel guilty and think that their parents' condition is their fault, while others feel angry. They feel remorse towards the alcoholic parent for preventing them from being a "normal" family and anger towards the nonalcoholic parent for not fixing the problem (Torr, 2000, p. 30, 31). However, they are usually too afraid or ashamed to ask for help in dealing with these emotions. Building up these feelings can lead to larger, more serious problems. These children "showed higher levels of anxiety and depression than children from the homes of no alcoholic," reports Berger (1993). Children with alcoholic parents worry substantially about themselves, their parents, and their family life in general. They fear divorce, abuse, the loss of jobs, accidents and other problems linked to their parents' condition. This fear and excess of emotions can evolve even further to the point where the child may experience symptoms of depression (Torr, 2000, p. 30).
Many researchers claim that depression is not a direct effect of their parents' condition. However, as Lease (2002) argues of alcoholic parents, "early negative experiences, such as inadequate parenting, contribute to negative cognitive styles and that cognitive vulnerability to depression". Another fact that encourages this indirect correlation is that more than 60 percent of all teenage suicide attempts belong to alcoholic families (Berger, 1993, p. 51).
Although the constant worry of revealing the presence of an alcoholic in their family lessens as these children reach adulthood, many problems still occur and more begin to develop. Adult children of alcoholics may have developed stronger relationships, but many do not know how to properly deal with them. Many of these adults continue to back away from the possibility of developing close relationships with others (Smith, 1988, p. 80, 81).
On the other hand, some of these adults may instead become very needy in relationships, because they do not want to lose the first stable relationships they have had in their lives. They become "extremely dependent [in] relationships with friends, spouses, [and] relatives". Smith also reports that these relationships are "lopsided", meaning the adults believe that their own role in the relationship is to be available to and support the other, even if they do not get anything in return. Consequently, adult children of alcoholics often "mistake infatuation or chemistry for [intimacy]" (Smith, 1988, p. 74). Adults still have many difficulties dealing with success and self-image.
Berger (1993) writes that, "self-image is the key factor underlying many of the troublesome behaviors" (p. 67). The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence's research shows that 59 percent of female adult children of alcoholics have an eating disorder. "Drinking behaviors…indirectly influenced self-esteem" Lease (2002) states. This negative self-image severely affects the way these adults evaluate their lives. No matter how much success these adults gain, they tend to feel worthless and incompetent. Their past experiences with their alcoholic parents have depleted their self-worth, and their drive to do better has increased, which is not necessarily a good thing. They tend to drive themselves past success because they do not think that any thing they do is good
enough.
Reports have shown that many children of alcoholics lead practically normal lives, without the emotional and physical distress (Berger, 1993, p. 54, 55). However, these children have specific characteristics or conditions that prevent this distress. Many of these children have other support systems, like a strong nonalcoholic parent, other relatives, or friends who already know about the family's condition. They also have high self-esteem and a positive attitude. Children with alcoholic parents who lack these characteristics are far more susceptible to an unhealthy lifestyle. Even if they are fortunate enough to overcome their stressful childhood, these adults are still more receptive to the conditions mentioned earlier.
The most important impact on these children's lives is the fact that they have an increased chance of becoming alcoholics themselves and repeating the same actions and impacts on their families as their parents' had on them. The US Congress reports that children of alcoholics are five times more likely to become alcoholics than are children with nonalcoholic parents (Berger, 1993, p. 53). The life of a child of an alcoholic can take many paths. They may shy away from serious relationships or they may cling severely to them. They may take unnecessary measures to succeed or they may not try to prevail at all. They may try desperately to obtain attention outside of their home, or they may try to hide themselves. Whichever path these children end up taking, without support and care from outsiders, they usually develop unhealthy lifestyles, acquiring problems that prevent them from living normal, satisfactory lives.