FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Hillary Angel
Phone: (909) 390-1239
E-mail: hangel@wilkinguge.com

IN OBSERVANCE OF CHILDREN OF ALCOHOLIC WEEK
FEBRUARY 13-19, 2005

SAN DIEGO, Calif., - February 2005 - The Mayo Clinic defines alcoholism as a chronic, often progressive disease that can be fatal. Alcoholism is a preoccupation with alcohol with an impaired control over alcohol intake. Alcoholism can result in serious health, family and relationship, work-related and financial consequences. Genetic, psychological and social factors contribute to this addiction. Alcohol abuse means excessive drinking that result in similar consequences, but you may not be dependent on alcohol or have not lost control over alcohol.

Most people are generally aware of the potential harm of excessive alcohol use and alcoholism. But many people do not realize those hurt most by alcohol and alcoholism often don’t drink— they are the children of alcoholic parents (COAs).

A study by the Division of Biometry and Epidemiology conducted to provide direct estimates of the number of US children younger than 18 years who are exposed to alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence in the family resulted in this: approximately ¹ in 4 children younger than 18 years in the United States is exposed to alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence in the family.1 This research suggests, among other things, that children need help in dealing with their parents’ alcoholism.

Children of alcoholic parents are the children that are more likely to experience mental and physical problems and are at a greater risk of being neglected and abused. In fact, Children whose parents abuse alcohol are almost three times more likely to be abused and more than four times more likely to be neglected than children of parents who do not abuse alcohol.²

Statistically, breaking the cycle is not common practice. Children of alcoholics are two to four times more likely than other children to become addicted to alcohol themselves.

Research also indicates that parental alcoholism increases the risk for insecure attachment which in turn increases the risk for behavioral and emotional disorders in childhood, adolescence and adulthood. Here are two such studies:

Dev Psychopathol. 2002 Spring;14(2):253-78.
Mother-infant and father-infant attachment among alcoholic families.
Eiden RD, Edwards EP, Leonard KE.
University at Buffalo, State University of New York, USA. eiden@ria.buffalo.edu

This study examined the association between fathers' alcoholism and other risk factors such as parental depression, family conflict, infant temperament, and parent-infant attachment. The quality of parent-infant interactions was hypothesized to be a proximal mediator of the associations among alcoholism and other risk factors and attachment. The participants were 223 families (104 nonalcoholic families and 119 alcoholic families) with 12-month-old infants recruited through birth records. Infants in families with two parents with alcohol problem had significantly higher rates of insecure attachment with both parents. Structural Equations Modeling indicated that the fathers' alcohol problem was associated with lower paternal sensitivity (higher negative affect, lower positive engagement, and lower sensitive responding) during father-infant play interactions, and this in tum was associated with higher risk for infant attachment insecurity with fathers. The association between the fathers' alcohol problem and infant attachment security with the mother was mediated by matemal depression, and matemal alcohol problems and family conflict were associated with maternal sensitivity during play interactions. These results indicate that the fathers' alcoholism is associated with higher family risk including the quality of the parent-infant relationship; infant attachment develops in a family context; and this context has a significant association with attachment security.

Drug Alcohol Depend. 2004 Jul 15;75(1):47-53.
Relation of attachment style to family history of alcoholism and alcohol use disorders in early adulthood.
Vungkhanching M, Sher KJ, Jackson KM, Parra GR.
University of Missouri-Columbia, and the Midwest Alcoholism Research Center,
200 South 7th Street, Columbia, MO 65201, USA.

The present study examined the association between paternal alcoholism and attachment style in early adulthood and sought to determine whether attachment style might, at least partially, mediate intergenerational risk for alcoholism. The current report focuses on the cross-sectional relation between family history (FH) of alcoholism, attachment styles, and alcohol use disorders (AUD) when cohort members were, on average, 29 years old (N = 369; 46% male; 51% FH+). Results indicated that FH+ participants were more likely to have insecure attachment, characterized by fearful-avoidant and dismissed-avoidant styles. Additionally, fearful-avoidant and dismissed-avoidant attachment styles were related to the presence of an AUD even after controlling for sex and FH (P < 0.05). There was little evidence, however, that attachment style mediated the relation between paternal alcoholism and AUD in offspring; the FH-AUD association was only negligibly reduced when the effect of attachment style was controlled. Our findings suggest that insecure attachment style is a risk factor for AUD, independent of familial risk for alcoholism.

Resources:
California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT) Contact an expert. CAMFT has a membership of over 25,000 mental health professionals. CAMFT also offers a brochure to explain how Marriage and Family Therapists help consumers and is available at www.camft.org or by calling 858-292-2638, FAX 858-292-2650. CAMFT has an Internet resource to aid consumers in finding the right therapist. www.therapistfinder.com. National Association for Children of Alcoholics www.nacoa.org 888 55.4COAS Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information 800.729.6686.

Treatment centers, such as the Betty Ford Center have Children's Programs. These programs help children learn about addiction through age-appropriate activities so that they realize the disease is not their fault, they are not alone and they are not to blame. www.bettyfordcenter.org.

1 Grant, B.F. (2000). Estimates of U.S. Children Exposed to Alcohol Abuse and Dependence in the Family American Journal of Public Health. 90, 112-115.
2 Leventhal, J.M.; Garber, R.B.; & Brady, C.A. (1989). Identification during the postpartum periods of infants who are at risk of child maltreatment. The Journal of Pediatrics, 114(3), 481-487.

About CAMFT
The California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT) is an independent professional organization representing the interests of licensed marriage and family therapists. CAMFT has twenty-seven chapters throughout the state to serve the interests of California marriage and family therapists. CAMFT provides TherapistFinder.com as a resource to prospective patients looking for marriage and family therapists located in California. For more information on CAMFT, please call 858-292-2638 or www.camft.org.