Alcoholicic Children Research Paper

1906 Words8 Pages
Intro to Psychology Child of an Alcoholic Introduction I choose to do my topic on children of alcoholics. Millions of children live with or have lived with an alcoholic parent. Alcoholism is a disease that affects the whole family, not just the alcoholic. Children are influenced by their parents and are vulnerable. However, there is help and hope for children and adult children of alcoholics. Abstract Growing up in an alcoholic family is traumatic. In these homes, children experience a daily environment of inconsistency, chaos, fear, abandonment, denial, and real or potential violence. Survival becomes a full-time job. While most of us know that alcoholism is a disease, too few recognize it affecting the whole family, which may emotionally,…show more content…
They are also sometimes super responsible or super irresponsible; they are extremely loyal, and they tend to lock themselves into a course of action without giving serious consideration to alternative behaviors or possible consequences. This impulsiveness leads to confusion, self-loathing, and loss of control over their environment. In addition, they spend an excessive amount of energy cleaning up the mess. Some of the most common side effects are guilt; the child may see himself or herself as the main cause of the mother's or father's drinking. Anxiety; the child may worry constantly about the situation at home. He or she may fear the alcoholic parent will become sick or injured, and may also fear fights and violence between the parents. Embarrassment; parents may give the child the message that there is a terrible secret at home. The ashamed child does not invite friends home and is afraid to ask anyone for help. Confusion; the alcoholic parent will change suddenly from being loving to angry, regardless of the child's behavior. A regular daily schedule, which is very important for a child, does…show more content…
I really identified with the “Don’t talk, don’t trust, and don’t feel” and also the roles that a child develops living with an alcoholic. The roles are a way to survive. The questions that come to mind while doing research would be; if an adult child didn’t seek help from their past how are their parenting styles with their own children? I would like to see more research on this as they could be parenting with some of the same dysfunction and don’t realize it. Also how the alcoholic home has affects extended family members that are not in the home. The extended family members sometimes are forced to sit back and watch the dysfunction often not being able to do anything. I think it’s important to recognize that the extended family members also feel hopeless and confused. Using this information along with my own experiences as an adult child will help me to understand better how others deal with their childhoods. It is also important to know for prevention as well. Some adult children will isolate, engage in negative activities, find themselves in unhealthy abusive relationships or become alcoholic themselves. I really believe if I could put what I learn to use in prevention, and support then it would be better to stop the cycle of dysfunction that addiction can
Open Document