Identifying adult children of alcoholics: methodological review and a comparison of the CAST-6 with other methods

The best place you can seek help is through therapy and working with a dedicated mental health professional. As a child, seeing your parents drink so much (and how they acted afterward) may have been scary, confusing, or sad. You may often have thought you were the one who caused them to drink.

Adult Children of Alcoholics: Discussion Questions

Though because the experiences have common features, it’s likely you will recognize at adult children of alcoholics screening quiz least a few items on Dr. Jan’s list. If you grew up in a home with a parent who misused alcohol, you’re probably familiar with the feeling of never knowing what to expect from one day to the next. When one or both parents struggle with addiction, the home environment is predictably unpredictable. If you grew up in a household that drank a lot, you may need to identify the signs of alcoholism, and how to fix it. Alcoholism, or “Substance Use Disorder”, can severely damage a person’s health and make them act in harmful ways. Living in the same household as an alcoholic is difficult.

Many children of alcoholics develop similar characteristics and personality traits. In her 1983 landmark book, “Adult Children of Alcoholics,” the late Janet G. Woititz, Ed.D, outlined 13 of them.2 “Dr. Jan” (as she was known) was a best-selling author, lecturer, and counselor who was also married to an alcoholic. Discusses what an Adult Child is and lists 25 questions to help someone identify whether they suffer from the effects of growing up in an alcoholic or otherwise dysfunctional family. Includes The Laundry List, other types of dysfunctional families. This can also happen with things like pills and other drugs.

We welcome you to join us to see if this program is right for you. Find an  ACA meeting in your area or online to learn more. There are no membership dues or fees, and no requirements except a desire to recover from the effects of growing up in an alcoholic or otherwise dysfunctional family.

• You can find a support group meeting in your area or online meetings for both Al-Anon and ACOA.
• Others have found help through mutual support groups such as Al-Anon Family Groups or Adult Children of Alcoholics.
• You may often have thought you were the one who caused them to drink.
• Support the creation of new tools for the entire mental health community.
• If you grew up with a parent who drank too much, you may be dealing with long-term effects you never realized.
• If you grew up in a household that drank a lot, you may need to identify the signs of alcoholism, and how to fix it.

Identifying adult children of alcoholics: methodological review and a comparison of the CAST-6 with other methods

Use custom worksheets for the purpose of education and treatment. Digital activities for all ages on many mental health topics. Beautifully illustrated stories teaching mental health topics.

• When a parent is an alcoholic, the impact on their children can have consequences that follow them into adulthood.
• If you grew up in an alcoholic home, you may have developed any combination of the following challenges.
• The CAST-6, a shortened version of the Children of Alcoholics Screening Test, is compared with a variety of these methods.
• The linked site contains information that has been created, published, maintained by another organization.
• If you grew up in a home with a parent who misused alcohol, you’re probably familiar with the feeling of never knowing what to expect from one day to the next.
• As a child, seeing your parents drink so much (and how they acted afterward) may have been scary, confusing, or sad.
• Tony’s list has been adopted as part of the Adult Children of Alcoholics World Service Organization’s official literature and is a basis for the article, “The Problem,” published on the group’s website.

Characteristics of Adult Children of Alcoholics

You are at risk for having the same problems as your parents. Maybe they haven’t developed yet, or maybe you are in denial. The best way to ensure the wellbeing of those you love is to seek help. If you grew up in an alcoholic home, you may have developed any combination of the following challenges. If you think you may exhibit symptoms of these mental illnesses, please see a therapist. If you grew up with a parent who drank too much, you may be dealing with long-term effects you never realized.

What are interactive tools?

Methods of identifying adult children of alcoholics are described and their psychometric properties are reviewed. These methods include self-report single questions and questionnaires and interview schedules. The CAST-6, a shortened version of the Children of Alcoholics Screening Test, is compared with a variety of these methods.

Those of us who have lived with this disease as children sometimes have problems which the Al‑Anon program can help us to resolve. Support the creation of new tools for the entire mental health community. Others have found help through mutual support groups such as Al-Anon Family Groups or Adult Children of Alcoholics.

Related Tools

Like it or not, our parents have an impact on our behavior in ways that we may not even realize. When a parent is an alcoholic, the impact on their children can have consequences that follow them into adulthood. If one or both of your parents had a drinking problem while you were growing up, you are an Adult Child Of an Alcoholic (ACOA). Take this quiz and see just how much their drinking has affected your adult life. Many adult children of alcoholics (ACoA) experienced tumultuous childhoods that continue to impact them into adulthood. While these clients may have lived through tremendous hardships, they may have developed great strength and resilience as a result.

Good Enough Group Booklet

Perhaps you didn’t know they were alcoholics, or have denied it for a long time, but accepting your parent’s flaws is the first step to recovery. Download, print, and share unlimited copies of custom worksheets. The linked site contains information that has been created, published, maintained by another organization. ACA WSO is not responsible for,nor are we endorsing this content.

You can find a support group meeting in your area or online meetings for both Al-Anon and ACOA. Tony’s list has been adopted as part of the Adult Children of Alcoholics World Service Organization’s official literature and is a basis for the article, “The Problem,” published on the group’s website. If you’re a child of an alcoholic, that doesn’t mean that everything on this list will apply to you.