Research Research and More Research (Alcohol)

For this post I hit the books. This post is all on what the "experts" think about children growing up with addicts.

Lets start off with children of alcoholics.

Between 28 million and 34 million Americans have an alcoholic parent. At least 6 million children are living with an alcoholic parent in the states. Knowing this you would not be surprised that there are more than 4,000 support groups for children of alcoholics in America.

Many children of alcoholics are affected by alcoholism years after they have moved away from their families. Much of this is because children are affected by their addicted parents at a young age. From when they first discover their parents addiction, and sometimes even into their late adulthood, they believe that their parents addiction is their fault. Children of alcoholics develop three basic rules for surviving. They are as follows: Don't feel, don't trust, and don't talk about your parents alcohol problems. This rough childhood can lead to harmful emotional traits when they enter adulthood. These traits include: difficulty with intimacy, anxiety when changes occur that they cannot control, and extreme loyalty towards people that may not deserve it. Many of their problems come from one belief, no matter how well they do their jobs work, or other interests, they will never be able to get the respect from the ones that they longingly need.

Hyde, Margaret . Alcohol: Uses and Abuses . New York: Enslow, 1988. Print.