Testing Hypothesized Differences Between Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACOAs) and Non-ACOAs in a College Student Sample

The authors compared college adult children of alcoholics (ACOAs) and non-ACOAs using the Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory-3 (F.G. Miller, 1999).The results failed to support the hypothesis that ACOAs have higher rates of substance dependence,defensiveness, and codependency than do non-ACOAs. Practical implications are offered for college counselors. ********** A commonly accepted notion held by counselors and theorists for the past 20 years is that persons raised by an alcohol-dependent parent may have clinically different personality traits than those not raised under the same conditions. Persons raised in a home where at least one parent was alcohol dependent are commonly referred to as adult children of alcoholics (ACOAs). Evidence of acceptance of the ACOA phenomenon include specific approaches to the treatment of ACOA characteristics (Lewchanin & Sweeney, 1997; Mahon & Kempler, 1995) designed to address issues such as defensiveness, substance abuse, and codependence. Despite the popularly accepted view that ACOAs and nonACOAs have different personality traits, it is important for counselors to empirically examine their practices in fight of the developmental history of this premise and the relevant research regarding this topic. Woititz (1983) outlined personality characteristics she believed to be specific among ACOAs. Subsequent authors expanded on this notion. For example, Black (1992) posited that children develop denial to help them cope with alcohol-related parental inconsistency. Furthermore, Black wrote that by the time they are 9 years old, children in homes where at least one parent is alcohol dependent learn to pretend that "things are different than how they really are" (p. 276). Ackerman (1983) hypothesized that children respond to an alcohol-dependent parent by developing a systematic defensive response to life. Cermak (1986) purported that ACOAs form codependent relationships. Codependency is defined as "an emotional and behavioral pattern of interactive coping resulting from one's protracted exposure to a restrictive environment that does not allow the open or direct expression of feelings about oneself or other family members" (Fisher & Harrison, 2000, p. 217). Furthermore, Cermak suggested that codependent persons tend to enter into one-sided, emotionally destructive, and/or abusive relationships. Finally, ACOAs are believed to be at greater risk for developing their own substance abuse problems as a result of the combined influence of the genetic component of substance dependence according to the medical model and the environmental component of the social learning theory (Anda et al., 2002). The literature provides partial support for the ACOA hypothesis. Statistically significant differences between ACOAs and non-ACOAs surfaced in the following areas: relationship problems (Beesley & Stoltenberg, 2002; Kelley, Cash, Grant, Miles, & Santos, 2004), psychopathology and overall general distress (Obot & Aaathony, 2004), academic performance (Carle & Chassin, 2004), substance abuse (Chrisoffersen & Soothill, 2003), and denial of problems (Hart & McAleer, 1997). However, an equally vibrant body of empirical literature fails to support this hypothesis. For instance, group differences failed to surface between ACOA and non-ACOA samples in studies of memory impairment (Ferraro & Gabriel, 2003), psychopathology (Carpenter, 1995), self-esteem (Rodney, 1996), and standardized personality assessments (Hawkins & Hawkins, 1997; Hunt, 1997). Therefore, although some studies uncovered hypothesized differences between ACOAs and non-ACOAs, others failed to find differences. To find clarity in a line of research as cloudy as this, it is necessary to perform multiple investigations involving participants from a wide variety of settings and situations. The potentially harmful impact of growing up ha an ACOA home necessitates the investigation of the theory that college student ACOAs have higher rates of substance abuse, are more defensive, and are more codependent than are their non-ACOA peers. …