Adult Children of Substance Abusers

Adult Children of Substance Abusers
For many students who’ve grown up with parents who had alcohol or drug
problems, separation from home provides the fi rst opportunity to truly evaluate
the impact of their parents’ substance abuse. Students’ own problems forming
intimate relationships or developing a secure and confi dent identity may
also spur self-refl ection about what it has meant to grow up in such a home.
Woititz (1983) outlines 13 characteristics of adult children of alcoholics
(sometimes referred to as ACOAs). Th ese include lacking a clear sense of what
“normal” is, fi nding it diffi cult to make decisions or see projects through to
completion, judging themselves harshly, taking themselves and life too seriously,
experiencing diffi culties with intimacy, continually seeking approval,
and acting either hyperresponsibly or irresponsibly. While there is no single
personality type for adult children of alcoholics, students who’ve had a substance-
abusing parent oft en resonate with these descriptions and feel motivated
to understand and transcend the harm they’ve endured. Students who dependence and for partnering with alcoholics or drug addicts, thereby recapitulating
with which the diffi culties they grew up.
Group therapy is oft en the treatment of choice, allowing these students
to evaluate their own behavior, notice dysfunctional strategies, and experiment
with new ways of relating. Groups also build trust and provide consistency—
both typically in short supply in homes with a substance-abusing
parent. Al-Anon, a community-based companion group to AA designed for
family members of alcoholics, can be an additional support provided that the
particular group welcomes adult children of alcoholics, not just spouses and
partners. Individual psychotherapy may also be warranted to help these students
when they become severely depressed or highly anxious.