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THESlS

This is to certify that the
thesis entitled
The Capacity for Intimacy
in Late Adolescent Children
of Alcoholics

presented by

Michele O. Poorman*

has been accepted towards fulﬁllment
of the requirements for

Master's degree in Psychology

 

 

 

Date April 6, 1994

 

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cmmﬂt

 

THE CAPACITY FOR INTIMACY IN
LATE ADOLESCENT CHILDREN OF ALCOHOLICS

By

Michele Ollie Poorman

A THESIS

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulﬁllment of the requirements
for the degree of

MASTER OF ARTS

Department of Psychology

1994

ABSTRACT

THE CAPACITY FOR INT IMACY IN
LATE ADOLESCENT CHILDREN OF ALCOHOLICS

By

Michele Ollie Poorman

Both the clinical and research literature have demonstrated an
association between parent alcoholism and adolescents' capacity for
intimacy. The present study hypothesized that parent alcoholism would
alter the degree of intrapsychic conﬂict in adolescent/parent relationships
and that deidealization of parents would moderate the relationship between
intrapsychic conﬂict and late adolescents' difﬁculties with intimacy
(especially among adolescent children of alcoholic). Contrary to the
literature, the results did not show a direct relationship between paternal
alcoholism and adolescents' problems with intimacy. However, the results
indicated that deidealization plays an important role in moderating the
effects of intrapsychic conﬂict, especially in the adolescent/father
relationships, on adolescents' problems with intimacy, both in alcoholic and
non-alcoholic families. It was concluded that enhancing the
parent/adolescent relationship either by reducing the level of intrapsychic
conﬂict or by facilitating deidealization of the alcoholic parent is an

important therapeutic goal when working with alcoholic families.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to thank my thesis chair, Susan Frank, for her valuable
contributions and guidance at every phase of this project. I would also like
to thank the other members of my thesis committee, Jacqueline Lerner and
Ellen Strommen, for their constructive feedback. Finally, I must thank my
friends and family for their support. In particular, I would like to thank
Cathy Costigan for her encouragement and sense of perspective, Steve
Meyers for his ideas and time, Natalie Denburg for her patience, and
Evaristo Delgado for his love, friendship, and understanding throughout

this entire process.

iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Tables .................................................................................... vii
List of Figures ................................................................................... ix
Introduction ....................................................................................... 1
Intimacy and Alcoholic Families .................................................. 2
Problems with Intimacy ..................................................... 3

Adult Attachment Styles ..................................................... 4

The Separation-Individuation Process ........................................... 8

The Aspects of the Separation-Individuation

Process Evaluated in this Study .......................................... 9
The Separation-Individuation Process in Alcoholic Families .......... 10
Clinical Literature ............................................................ 10
Research Literature .......................................................... 12
Separation-Individuation and Intimacy in Alcoholic Families ......... 16
Parent Marital Conﬂict and Separation-Individuation .................... 18

A Moderator in the Relationship between Separation-

Individuation and Intimacy in Alcoholic Families ......................... 20
Summary ................................................................................. 23
Hypotheses ........................................................................................ 25
Method ............................................................................................. 26
Participants .............................................................................. 26
Measures .................................................................................. 27
Parental Alcoholism ......................................................... 27

iv

Parent Conﬂict ................................................................ 29

Separation-Individuation...................................................30
Deidealization.........................................................30

Intrapsychic Conﬂict ............................................... 30

Adult Attachment3l
Procedure32
Results .............................................................................................. 33
Descriptive Statistics33
Intercorrelations .............................................................. 33

Analysis of Variance ........................................................ 36
Hypothesis 1 ............................................................................. 36
Hypothesis 2 ............................................................................. 44
Hypothesis 3 ............................................................................. 45
Correlations .................................................................... 45

Regression Procedures ..................................................... 45

Additional Analyses ......................................................... 61

Discussion ......................................................................................... 62

The Relationship between Paternal Alcoholism and
Intrapsychic Conﬂict and Capacity for Intimacy ........................... 62

The Relationship between Separation-Individuation

Variables and Capacity for Intimacy ........................................... 65
Implications of Perceived Parent Conﬂict .................................... 71
Methodological Limitations and Future Directions ........................ 71
Representativeness of the Sample ....................................... 71
Measures ......................................................................... 73
Conclusions .............................................................................. 73

—

Appendix A: Parent Alcohol Consumption Questionnaire ...................... 73

Appendix B: Perceptions of Parent Conﬂict Scale ................................. 78
Appendix C: Deidealization Scale from the Emotional Autonomy Scale..79
Appendix D: Conﬂictual Independence Scale ........................................ 80
Appendix E: Hazan's and Shaver's Adult Attachment Questionnaire ....... 82
Appendix F: Bartholomew's Adult Attachment Questionnaire ................ 83
List of References .............................................................................. 84

vi

Table I:

Table 2:

Table 3:
Table 4:

Table 5:

Table 6:

Table 7:

Table 8:

Table 9:

Table 10:

LIST OF TABLES

Breakdown of Participants by Sex, Paternal Alcoholism,
and Parent Marital Status .................................................. 27

Intercorrelations Among Perceived Parent Conﬂict,

Paternal Alcoholism, Intrapsychic Conﬂict in the
Parent/Adolescent Relationship, and Deidealization of

Fathers and Mothers ......................................................... 34

Intercorrelations Among the Adult Attachment Styles .......... 35

Factor Analysis of Adult Attachment Styles for
Adolescents with Alcoholic Fathers .................................... 37

Factors Analysis of Adult Attachment Styles for
Adolescents with Non-Alcoholic Fathers ............................. 38

Signiﬁcant Results of Univariate Tests of Paternal

Alcoholism, Parent Marital Status, Paternal Alcoholism x
Parent Marital Status, Paternal Alcoholism x Adolescent

Sex, and Parent Marital Status x Adolescent Sex .................. 40

Means for Deidealization of Fathers by Paternal
Alcoholism and by Parent Marital Status Adjusted for
the Effect of Perceived Parent Conﬂict .............................. 41

Means for Intrapsychic Conﬂict in Relation to Mothers
by Paternal Alcoholism and by Parent Marital Status
Adjusted for the Effect of Perceived Parent Conﬂict ........... 41

Means for Intrapsychic Conﬂict in Relation to Mothers
by Paternal Alcoholism and by Adolescent Sex Adjusted
for the Effect of Perceived Parent Conﬂict ........................ 42

Means for Deidealization of Fathers by Adolescent
Sex and by Parent Marital Status Adjusted for the
Effect of Perceived Parent Conﬂict .................................... 42

VII

Table I 1: Means for Intrapsychic Conﬂict in Relation to Fathers
by Adolescent Sex and by Parent Marital Status
Adjusted for the Effect of Perceived Parent Conﬂict ........... 43

Table 12: Univariate Correlations and Partial Correlations
Controlling for Perceived Parent Conﬂict Showing
the Relationship Between Intrapsychic Conﬂict and
Deidealization in Relation to Parents and Adult
Attachment Styles for Males and Females ........................... 46

Table 13: Interactions Predicting Hazan and Shaver's (1987)

and Bartholomew's (1990) Adult Attachment Styles
for Males and Females ...................................................... 48

viii

Figure 1:

Figure 2:

Figure 3:

Figure 4:

Figure 5:

Figure 6:

Figure 7:

Figure 8:

LIST OF FIGURES

Interaction between males' experiences of deidealization

and intrapsychic conﬂict in relation to alcoholic and non-
alcoholic fathers in predicting Bartholomew's dismissing
adult attachment style ....................................................... 49

Interactions between paternal alcoholism and males'
experiences of intrapsychic conﬂict in relation to fathers
in predicting Bartholomew's secure attachment style ............ 51

Interactions between paternal alcoholism and males'
experiences of intrapsychic conﬂict in relation to fathers
in predicting Bartholomew's anxious attachment style .......... 52

Interactions between paternal alcoholism and males'
experiences of intrapsychic conﬂict in relation to fathers
in predicting Bartholomew's fearful attachment style ........... 53

Interaction between females' experiences of deidealization
and intrapsychic conﬂict in relation to fathers in predicting
Hazan and Shaver's secure adult attachment style ................. 55

Interaction between females' experiences of deidealization

and intrapsychic conﬂict in relation to fathers in predicting
the A/C adult attachment style based on Hazan and Shaver's
measure .......................................................................... 56

Interaction between females' experiences of deidealization
and intrapsychic conﬂict in relation to fathers in predicting
Bartholomew's fearful adult attachment style ...................... 57

Interaction between females' experiences of deidealization

and intrapsychic conﬂict in relation to mothers in predicting
Bartholomew's secure adult attachment style ....................... 58

ix

Figure 9:

Figure 10:

Interaction between females' experiences of deidealization

and intrapsychic conﬂict in relation to alcoholic and non-
alcoholic fathers in predicting Hazan and Shaver's

avoidant adult attachment style59

Interaction between females' experiences of deidealization

and intrapsychic conﬂict in relation mothers in predicting
Hazan and Shaver's avoidant adult attachment style for
females with alcoholic and non-alcoholic fathers ................. 6O

INTRODUCTION

Both the clinical and research literature have demonstrated an
association between parent alcoholism and adolescents' capacity for
intimacy. However, in order to further understand this relationship it is
important to look deeper into the alcoholic environment so as to discover the
mechanisms by which problems associated with parent alcoholism develop.

”To this end, the proposed study will test the interrelationships among parent
alcoholism, perceptions of parent marital conﬂict, separation-individuation
processes (as measured by intrapsychic conﬂict in the parent/adolescent
relationship and deidealization), and intimacy (as measured by adult
attachment styles): In particular, it will assess a) ways in which parent
alcoholism and perceived parent conﬂict affect the degree of intrapsychic
conﬂict in adolescent/parent relationships and b) ways in which
deidealization of the parents moderates the relationship between intrapsychic
conﬂict and late adolescents' difﬁculties with intimacy (especially among
late adolescent children of alcoholic fathers). In order to understand the
intricacies of this model, it is necessary to review the literature on late
adolescent children of alcoholics' capacity for intimacy, the separation-
individuation process in alcoholic families, and the relationship between
separation-individuation and late adolescents capacity for intimacy in both

alcoholic and non—alcoholic families.

2
Intimacv and Alcoholic Families

”The extensive research on the effects of being raised in an alcoholic
environment reﬂects an awareness of the potential negative consequences
experienced by all family members. not just the alcoholic.’The effects of
alcoholism on the family vary with the status of the disease and the family's
coping resources, support systems, and socioeconomic circumstances*(Ziter.
1988; Seilhamer & Jacob, 1990). {However. the alcoholic family is, by
degree. an abusive and neglectful environment that can be expected to
interfere with normal development. *Researchers have consistently found
internalizing problems in children of alcoholics. including: loyv self-esteem
(El-Guebaly & Offord, 1977; Woititz, 1977: Werner, 1986). impaired
emotional functioning (Anderson & Quast, 1983; Fine, Yudin, Holmes, &
Heinemann, 1976; Moos & Billings, 1982; Prewett, Spence, & Chakens,
1981), somatic problems (Biek, 1981: Roberts & Brent, 1982: Steinhausen.
Nestler, & Huth, 1982), and social inadequacy (Arentzen, 1978: Black,
1979; Morehouse and Richards, 1982; Seixas, 1982). Additional effects
range from increased risk of substance abuse (Lund & Landesman-Dwyer,
1979: Rydelius, 1983: Herjanic, Herjanic, Penick, Tomelleri, & Armbruster,
I977), truancy (Fine et al., 1976; Hughes, 1977; Offord, Allen, & Abrams
1978; Robins. West, Ratcliff, & Herjanic, 1978), hyperactivity (Cantwell.
1975; Fine et al., 1976; Lund & Landesman-Dwyer, 1979; Tarter, Hegedus,
Goldstein, Shelly, & Alterman, 1984), to conduct disorder (Stewart, deBlois,
& Singer, 1979; Steinhausen, Gobel, & Nestler, 1984; Fine et al., 1976). In
addition, professionals working with alcoholic families have reported that
the Ehildren experience intense feelings of rejection, anger, denial, and guilt
(T hrowe, 1986: Gilligan, Reich, & Cloninger, 1988; Assur, Jackson, &
Muncy, 1987; Arentzen, 1978; Nace, Dephoure, Goldberg, & Cammarota,

3
I982: Potter-Efron & Potter-Efron. I989: Seixas & Levitan. 1984: Murphy.

1984).

In addition to behavioral and psychological problems. it is important
to consider the effects of being raised in an alcoholic family on the
adolescent children's developmental process. As one pertinent example,
when dealing with late adolescents or young adults, there is good reason to
be concerned about the effects of parental alcoholism on the adolescents'

capacity for intimacy.

Problems with Intimacy

According to Erikson (1968) a primary challenge of the late
adolescent and young adult period of development is the achievement of
intimacy instead of isolation.“ Erikson (1963) deﬁned intimacy as "the
capacity to commit...to concrete afﬁliations and partnerships and to develop
the ethical strength to abide by such commitments"f*According to this
deﬁnition, intimacy is not necessarily physical or sexual but exists in
relationships involving emotional commitment between family members,
friends, or lovers.“ (For a review of the literature on the intimacy see Clark &
Reis, 1988).‘The clinical and research literature indicate that children of
alcoholics have a fear of intimacy and difﬁculty developing secure
relationships (Black, Bucky, & Wilder-Padilla, 1986; Berlin, Davis &
Orenstein, I988; Crespi, 1990; Heryla & Haberrnan, I991; Woititz, 1977).

" Based on their work at a mental health center, Berlin et al. (1988) reported

that adolescents from alcoholic families were unable to establish emotionally
close adult relationships, in part, because they distance themselves from the
negative feelings of growing up in alcoholic families by avoiding all

relationships?" Boye-Beaman, Leonard, & Senchak (1991) investigated the

4
impact of parent alcoholism on young adults' capacity for intimacy by

evaluating the marital relationships of offspring from alcoholic families.
"Their results suggested that young adult children of alcoholics are more
cautious about entering intimate relationships.“ In addition, Black et al.
(1986) and Benson and Heller (1987) described a group of adult children of
alcoholics whose approaches to intimate relationships were characterized by
even more severe limitations. For example, in a study of the interpersonal
difﬁculties of adult children of alcoholics, Black et al. (1986) concluded that
Tchildren of alcoholics, when compared to children of non—alcoholics, had
signiﬁcantly greater difﬁculty with trust, dependency, and intimacy?t
Similarly, Benson and Heller (1987) compared daughters of alcoholic
fathers, psychiatrically disturbed fathers, and normal fathers and found that
daughters of alcoholic fathers were more distressed and symptomatic than
daughters of normal fathers and less symptomatic than daughters of
emotionally disturbed fathers. The daughters of alcoholic fathers could be
divided into two groups. The ﬁrst group consisted of well-functioning
individuals where as the second group responded more negatively to the
alcoholic family environment. The latter group (but not the former)
described themselves as having low self-esteem, a limited sense of trust in

others, and intense fears of dependency and intimacy.

_A_dult Attachment Styles

A framework for understanding children of alcoholics' intimacy
problems and difﬁculties establishing secure relationships can be found in
the attachment literature. John Bowlby developed the theoretical framework
for attachment theory and deﬁned attachment as "any form of behavior that

results in a person attaining or retaining proximity to some other

3
differentiated and preferred individual. who is usually conceived as stronger

and/or wiser" (Bowlby. 1983). Ainsworth, Blehar. Waters. and Wall (1978)
investigated qualitative differences in attachment styles using a method they
developed called the Strange Situation Task. This laboratory procedure
involves observing a child's behaviors in the presence of the caregiver. in the
presence of a stranger, by him/herself, and at the caregiver/child reunion.
The child's responses can be classiﬁed into three general attachment
patterns: secure (i.e., the child uses the caregiver as a 'secure base').
insecure/avoidant (i.e., the child ignores the caregiver), or
insecure/ambivalent (i.e., the child is difﬁcult to calm and responds to the
caregiver with ambivalence). (For a more thorough description of
attachment theory see Bowlby, 1982 or Hazan & Shaver, 1987.)

In addition to Ainsworth's three attachment styles, Crittenden (I988)
conceptualized an avoidant/ambivalent insecure attachment pattern (A/C) as
a combination of Ainsworth's et al. (1978) insecure/avoidant and
insecure/ambivalent attachment styles (i.e., anxiety about and avoidance of
close relationships).¢She suggested that this pattern arises in infancy when
the primary attachment ﬁgure is depressed, alcoholic, disturbed, or abusive
is some way. Crittenden and Ainsworth (1989) argued that this pattern
remains in older children who have had to cope with major inconsistencies
and have integrated that information into their expectations of relationships.“

Latty-Mann and Davis (1988; as cited in Brennan, Shaver & Tobey,
1990) tested the hypothesis that adult children of alcoholics would be
characterized by insecure attachment styles. In particular, they proposed that
children from alcoholic families would belong disproportionately to the A/C
category of attachment presented by Crittenden (1988). In order to

determine if children of alcoholics would conform to the A/C pattern of

6
attachment styles. Latty-Mann and Davis studied adults attending an Adult

Children of Alcoholics conference. They found adult children of alcoholics
were four times as likely to meet criteria for the A/C status than adults not
raised in alcoholic families. The results indicated that the attachment styles
of children of alcoholics could be characterized by a combination of mistrust
and insecurity. However, the generalizability of the ﬁndings is limited
because the sample was comprised of individuals who publicly identiﬁed
themselves as in need of help by attending a self-help conference and who
may be generally more disturbed than individuals who do not attend Adult
Children of Alcoholic conferences and yet have an alcoholic parent (Heller,
Sher, & Benson, I982).

Brennan et al. (1990) recognized both the theoretical value and
methodological limitation of Latty-Mann and Davis's work. They designed a
study to empirically validate the relationship between parental problem
drinking and adult attachment styles among 863 undergraduates. In order to
test this relationship they used two measures of adult attachment styles:
Hazan and Shaver's (1987) three category measure and Bartholomew's
(1990) four category measure. Hazan and Shaver's three category
attachment measure translates Ainsworth's descriptions of the three infant
attachment styles (insecure/ambivalent, secure, and insecure/avoidant) into
terms appropriate for adult romantic relationships. Bartholomew (1990)
suggested that this measure was too limited to adequately explain the full
range of adult intimate relationships because it only focused on romantic
relationships. Consequently, Bartholomew proposed an adult attachment
scale which asks respondents to report on their experiences in gigs;
relationships in general. In addition, Bartholomew's four category measure

distinguishes between two types of insecure avoidant attachment styles,

7
fearful and dismissing. The fearful avoidant style is characterized by fear of

intimacy and mistrust of others and the dismissing style is characterized by a
denial of the need for social relationships. While adults with either the
dismissing or fearful avoidant styles have a negative view of others. these
individuals can be distinguished by their evaluations of themselves. The
dismissing avoidant individuals have a positive view of themselves, whereas
the fearful avoidant individuals view themselves as undeserving of intimacy.
In contrast, adults with secure or preoccupied (insecure/ambivalent)
attachment styles have a positive view of others. However, securely
attached individuals also have a positive view of themselves. whereas
preoccupied individuals have a negative view of themselves and ﬁnd
themselves unworthy of intimate relationships (Bartholomew, 1990).

Using Hazan and Shaver's three category measure, Brennan et al.
hypothesized that children of alcoholics would be over represented in the
A/C attachment category. In addition, Brennan et al. proposed there would
be an association between Bartholomew's fearful avoidant attachment style
and parental problem drinking. The results of Brennan et a|.'s study
supported their hypotheses for both the A/C attachment style based on Hazan
and Shaver's three category measure and the fearful avoidant attachment
style based on Bartholomew's four category measure. ”From their results, it
can be at least tentatively concluded that growing up with a problem
drinking parent is related to young adult development of an insecure
attachment style and, in particular, fear and avoidance of intimacy in close
relationships However, this study does not indicate what characteristics of
the alcoholic environment lead to late adolescents' difﬁculties forming close,

trusting relationships.

8
The Separation-Individuation Process

Before considering the role of the separation-individuation process as
a potential mediator between parental alcoholism and adolescents' problems
with intimacy, it is important to look more closely at the separation-
individuation process of adolescence. The concept of separation—
individuation is often associated with Mahler's (I963) description of a
process that occurs as young children move away from their primary
relationship with their mothers. According to Josselson (1980), however, the
separation-individuation process runs the course of the life cycle, taking on
different phase-speciﬁc characteristics. Blos (1967) proposed that a second
phase of the separation-individuation process occurs during adolescence
when work on individuation is renewed and dominant. This process is seen
as a gradual one that begins during adolescence but continues into adulthood
(Smollar & Youniss, 1989). Factors such as ﬁnancial independence,
separate residence, graduation, marriage, and starting a family present new
contextual frameworks for the changes associated with the separation—
individuation process (Moore, 1987).

Strictly deﬁned, separation-individuation refers to the two interrelated
processes of moving away from parental inﬂuence while simultaneously
moving towards the development of a distinct autonomous self. The
separation component involves the differentiation of adolescents from their
parents. It includes emotional distancing and disengagement from the
adolescents' parents or families. Individuation refers to the evolution of
emotional autonomy and the assumption of the adolescents' own individual
characteristics (Christenson & Wilson, 1985).

Different theorists, however, have provided a more complex

conceptualization of the separation-individuation process. Hoffman (1984)

9
extrapolated from the description of the separation-individuation process of

infancy in order to deﬁne four separate aspects of the process of
psychological separation during adolescence. The ﬁrst is functional
independence. Late adolescents develop the ability to manage and direct
many practical and personal areas of their lives without the help of their
parents. The second, attitudinal independence, is deﬁned as having the
image of oneself as being unique from one's parents and having one's own
beliefs. values and attitudes. The third aspect is emotional independence.
The adolescents experience freedom from an excessive need for approval,
closeness, and emotional support from their parents. Finally. conﬂictual
independence develops when adolescents are liberated from excessive guilt,

anXiety, responsibility, resentment and anger in relation to their parents.

The Aspects of the Separation-Individuation Process Evaluated in this Study

Another way to deﬁne the separation-individuation process of
adolescence is to distinguish the cognitive from the emotional aspects of the
process. Hoffman's ( I984) conﬂictual independence scale is an example of
the more emotional aspect of the separation-individuation process in which
adolescents seek intrapsychic freedom from excessive feelings of anger,
guilt, and responsibility in relation to their parents. In the present study this
aspect of the separation-individuation process will be referred to in terms of
its opposite, namely intrapsychic conﬂict in the adolescent/parent
relationship.

Other theorists have concentrated on more cognitive aspects of the
separation-individuation process embodied in deidealization of parental
representations. They have described adolescence as a time to begin to undo

the identiﬁcation with one's parents and to see one's parents as real people

10
with strengths and weaknesses. In removing parents from their pedestals

and recognizing parents' fallibility, adolescents are given the opportunity to
develop greater separateness (Hill & Holmbeck. I986). Through this
process of deidealizing parents, adolescents cognitively begin to challenge
the asymmetry of their relationship with their parents and become their own

self evaluator.

The Separation-Individuation Process in Alcoholic Families
Presumably, both the emotional and cognitive aspects of separation-
individuation processes in alcoholic families have a unique quality. The
literature investigating these processes among children of alcoholics can be

divided into two separate domains: clinical and research.

Clinical Literature

Many clinicians (Crespi, 1990; Ziter, 1988) describe the alcoholic
family as characterized by high levels of intrapsychic conﬂict in the
adolescent/parent relationship. In particular, Crespi (1990) observed that
adolescents raised in these families experienced feelings of guilt about their
desires to separate from their families and excessive feelings of
responsibility for their parents well-being . Similarly, Bogdaniak and Piercy
(1987) evaluated therapeutic issues of adolescent children of alcoholics and
found that when these adolescents began struggling with the process of
separating from their families, they were held back by the need to take care
of the rest of their family's needs.

Berlin, Davis, and Orenstein (1988) observed similar dynamics in
alcoholic families in their work with adolescents at a mental health center.

They found that the ﬁrst signs of separation by adolescent children of

I l
alcoholics were seen by their families as a potential loss or rejection. In

order to maintain equilibrium, the families opposed the adolescents' efforts
to gain a separate existence. The parents' effort to inhibit the adolescents'
separation from their alcoholic families was manifested by the adolescents'
fear and guilt over separation (i.e.. intrapsychic conﬂict).

Wood (1987) observed that adolescent children of alcoholics
commonly evidence emotional enmeshment with their parents and outlined a
psychoanalytic/object relations understanding of the relationship between
growing up in alcoholic families and adolescents' difﬁculty psychologically
separating. For all adolescents. the separation process is difﬁcult because of
children's need and love for their parents. However, according to Wood,
alcoholic parents often exploit the love of their children by attempting to
prevent normal adolescent separation. Children can not tolerate the
existence of a "bad" (i.e. alcoholic) parent because parents are necessary for
their survival. Consequently, children deny the destructive and
disappointing qualities of their parents by internalizing representations of the
"bad" parent as part of themselves. The parents reinforce the children's
"bad" self image by projecting their feelings of inferiority onto their
children. The children accommodate by feeling weak and "bad" in order to
stabilize their parents. By the time these children are adolescents, they have
become crucial elements in their parents' psychological stability. Therefore,
the parents will exert enormous pressure on the adolescents to prevent them
from emotionally separating from the family and will try to paralyze the
adolescents with shame and guilt in order to keep them tied to the family.
Again the problems in the separation-individuation process are evidenced

through intrapsychic conﬂict in the adolescent/parent relationship.

12
In sum. the clinical literature clearly suggests that being raised in an

alcoholic environment has deleterious effects on the separation-individuation
process of adolescence. In particular? adolescents appear to be unable to
detach from feelings of guilt, responsibility. and anxiety in relation to their
parenti’This intrapsychic conﬂict in the adolescent/parent relationship is one
mechanism by which problems in the separation-individuation process are
played out in alcoholic families and as such demonstrate how the challenges
associated with separation-individuation for normal adolescents are

intensiﬁed for adolescents raised in alcoholic families.

Research Literature

Although the ﬁndings in the clinical literature are both compelling and
consistent in their demonstration of adolescents' difﬁculty separating from
the alcoholic family, several problems exist in evaluating solely clinical
samples. At a minimum, it is important to consider that the clinical
observations presented in the above section have not been validated by
scientiﬁc research. The ﬁndings are not a result of systematic evaluation of
data but are the impressions and hypothesis clinicians have developed
through observation. In addition, it is important to evaluate the sample from
which the observations were taken. Drawing conclusions solely from
clinical ﬁndings may be hazardous because most alcoholics, problem
drinkers and/or their children are not in treatment. Finally, the offspring of
clinical samples of alcoholics may differ from children of untreated
alcoholics. The treated group may have parents with greater
symptomatology, longer drinking periods, and/or may have entered
treatment through legal necessity. These circumstances limit the

generalizability of the results and call for broader based research evaluating

13
the extent of intrapsychic conﬂict in the parent/adolescent relationship in

alcoholic families.

Whereas the clinical literature points to intrapsychic conﬂict in the
adolescent/parent relationship as an example of separation-individuation ‘
problems in alcoholic families, the research literature has focused on other
aspects of the separation-individuation process. Several empirical studies
have evaluated the association between parental alcoholism and adolescents'
ability to separate from their families. Davis, Stern. and VanDeusen (1978)
proposed that the effects of chronic drinking behavior can be determined by
focusing on the role alcoholism plays in the family system. In their work.
dysfunctional families were conceptualized as falling at either extreme of the
enmeshment-disengagement continuum. The enmeshed families are highly
fused systems that discourage autonomy in individual family members.
Conversely, disengaged family systems are characterized by excessive
differentiation and restricted communication among members. The family
ties in disengaged families are weak, with little or no sense of relatedness
between family members.

The purpose of the study by Davis et al. was to examine the
applicability of the enmeshment-disengagement construct to alcoholic
families. In order to avoid the potential biases associated with clinical
samples, none of the alcoholic families in the study were in treatment at the
time of the study. Davis et al. hypothesized that the alcoholic families would
manifest higher degrees of either enmeshment or disengagement. The
results showed that while the alcoholic appeared disengaged, the rest of the
family was enmeshed. Consequently. the alcoholic family, as a unit, could
not be placed at one end or the other of the disengagement-enmeshment

continuum. These results suggest that the families' enmeshment, with the

l4
exception of the alcoholic. would affect adolescents' ability to

psychologically separate from their families (Davis et al., 1978).

Although the study by Davis et al. was consistent with clinical
accounts suggesting developmental delays in the separation-individuation
processes among late adolescent children of alcoholics. other researchers
have found that parental alcoholism may actually accelerate aspects of the
separation-individuation process. Wright, Frank, and Pirsch (1991)
suggested that adolescent children of alcoholics are "pseudoautonomous"
because they display high levels of self-govemance at the cost of emotional
connection to their parents. In order to empirically validate their hypothesis.
Wright et al. (1991) studied a college sample of late adolescents to determine
the implications of paternal alcoholism on the late adolescents' ability to
psychologically separate from their families. They hypothesized that in
comparison to adolescents from families with no history of alcohol
problems, adolescent children of alcoholics would report greater autonomy,
but also less relatedness in relation to parents. The results showed that sons,
whose fathers continued to drink heavily, were more likely than sons with
non-alcoholic fathers to rely on their own resources rather than seek
assistance from their fathers and more likely to describe less closeness in
their relationships with their fathers. In contrast, they found no signiﬁcant
differences in the mother/son, mother/daughter, or father/daughter dyads
when comparing adolescents with actively drinking alcoholic fathers and
non-alcoholic fathers. They concluded that sons of fathers who continued to
drink heavily were more "pseudoautonomous" in their relationships with
their fathers and that the separation-individuation process for these sons was

actually accelerated rather than delayed.

l5
Wright et al. and Davis et al. reach opposite conclusions about the

effects of parent alcoholism on the separation-individuation process. in that
Wright et al. argues for an acceleration of the process while Davis et a|.'s
ﬁndings supports m in development. However. when the results are
evaluated more closely some of the discrepancies are dissipated. While
Davis et al. argue that adolescents have difﬁculty separating from the
alcoholic family. they acknowledge that adolescents may actually be
disengaged from their alcoholic fathers. This re—evaluation is more
consistent with the Wright et a|.'s ﬁndings for sons' more autonomous
relationships with their alcoholic fathers. One major difference between
these studies still remains. While Davis et al. found that adolescents were
enmeshed with the non-alcoholic part of the family and had difﬁculty
separating from them, Wright et al. did not ﬁnd any deviations from normal
development in sons' relationships with their mothers or daughters
relationships with either parent. In conclusion, it should be noted that not
only are these ﬁndings less consistent than the clinical literature, Wright et
al. and Davis et al. focused more speciﬁcally on the functional and
emotional components of adolescent separation-individuation as opposed to
evaluating the effects of intrapsychic conﬂict in the parent/adolescent
relationship.

'4 In sum, the aforementioned research and clinical literature
demonstrate that parental alcoholism affects some adolescents' ability to
psychologically separate from one or both of their parents. In turn, their
ability to separate from their families may affect the relationship between

1
parental alcoholism and adolescents' adjustment (i.e., capacity for intimacy).

l6
Swaration—Individuation and Intimacy in Alcoholic Families

Research with late adolescents in general links the quality of the
parent/adolescent relationship to the ability to form positive and intimate
relationships with peers (Armsden & Greenberg, I987: Kobak & Sceery.
1988: Christenson and Wilson. 1985). For example, there is some data to
support Christenson and Wilson's (I985) hypothesis that disturbances in the
separation-individuation process may lead to difﬁculties in differentiating
self from others. splitting. and problems in close relationships. In particular.
Frank and Burke (1992) studied parent/adolescent relationships and their
impact on adolescents' capacity for intimacy. They found that greater
insecurity around issues of separation in relation to both parents (as well as
less relatedness and greater functional autonomy in relation to fathers) was a
predictor of insecure adult attachment styles. Similarly, Hoffman (1984)
investigated the association between intrapsychic conﬂicts in the
parent/adolescent relationship and adolescents' problems in close
relationships. Hoffman found that ongoing intrapsychic conﬂict between
late adolescents and their parents lead to feelings of mistrust and insecurity
in intimate relationships and consequently interfered with adolescents' ability
to participate in love relationships. Both of these studies support a link
between characteristics of the parent/adolescent relationship and adolescents'
capacity for intimacy.

The clinical literature has pointed to a similar relationship between
aspects of the separation-individuation process and adolescents' capacity for
intimacy in alcoholic families. In fact, clinicians point to a set of "causal"
relationships linking parental alcoholism to separation-individuation
difﬁculties (especially intrapsychic conﬂicts over separation) and, in turn,

intrapsychic conﬂicts to problems with intimacy. For example, Wood

17
(1987) described the social and romantic commitments of adult children of

alcoholics as erratic and extreme. She concluded that adult children of
alcoholics long for love and intimacy but are terrified of the rejection and
pain they might be exposed to should they connect to others. As a result,
they are frequently unable to make steadfast commitments to relationships.
She hypothesized that the source of the problem is a disturbance of the
parent/adolescent relationships in alcoholic families. More specifically.
adult children of alcoholics are often still tied emotionally to their families
and are unable to negotiate the developmental task of separation. Cermak
and Brown (1982) conducted groups with adult children of alcoholics and
found that the group members often joined the group to break the strong
emotional ties to their families in which they continue to feel responsible for
the welfare of their parents. As a result of the intrapsychic conﬂict in their
relationships with their parents, group members were unable to form
attachments and reported problems with intimacy in their close relationships.
In these cases the separation process felt like abandoning the family (Brown,
1986). Similarly, Heryla and Haberman (1991) reported that late adolescent
children of alcoholics have an even greater challenge than other adolescents
in developing independence, achieving autonomy, and developing intimate
relationships. They found that when these adolescents attempted to move
towards separation they felt guilty over abandoning their family. Finally,
Copans (1989) described the separation process of adolescent children of
alcoholics as painful and often associated with unresolved guilt or hatred
directed toward either parent. Due to this intrapsychic conﬂict in the
adolescent/parent relationships, these adolescents had difficulty establishing

romantic relationships.

18

In addition to the aforementioned clinical observations. researchers
have investigated the effects of aspects of the separation-individuation
process on the relationship between parental alcoholism and adolescents'
capacity for intimacy. Wright, Frank, and Pirsch (1990) assessed whether
perceived parent marital conﬂict and/or disruption in the adolescent/ parent
relationship around issues of separation would mediate the association
between having an alcoholic parent and "fear of intimacy". Fear of intimacy
was deﬁned as a lack of psychological differentiation, defensive splitting,
and problems in close relationships. Wright et al. hypothesized that parental
alcoholism would inﬂuence the quality of adolescent/parent relationships
directly, as well as through the mediating effects of increased parent marital
conﬂict. In addition, their model predicted that disruptions in the
adolescent/parent relationship would predict fear of intimacy.

The results showed that parental alcoholism was associated with more
parent conﬂict. Additionally, greater parent conﬂict mediated the effects of
parental alcoholism on the adolescent/parent relationship, and the
parent/adolescent relationship was in turn signiﬁcantly related to fears of
intimacy. Wright et al. concluded that parent alcoholism is a relatively distal
predictor of problems in close relationships that operates through other
variables, such as parent marital conﬂict and the quality of the

adolescent/parent relationship.

Parent Marital Conﬂict and Sg3aration-Indivm_tmm_n
Although West and Prinz (1987) proposed parent marital conﬂict as a
mediating factor between parental alcoholism and problems in child
adjustment, the research by Wright et al. indicated that parent marital

conﬂict in turn inﬂuences adolescents' capacity for intimacy through its

19
effects on the separation-individuation process. Similarly. Moore (1982)

proposed that the adjustment of children raised in alcoholic families is
dependent on the quality and style of the parent/child relationship.
According to his conceptual framework secondary factors such as parent
marital conﬂict mediate the relationship between parental alcoholism and
child adjustment by disrupting the parent/child relationship.

Lopez, Campbell, & Watkins (I989) empirically investigated this
relationship between parent marital conﬂict and the parent/adolescent
relationship. They studied the effects of parent marital conﬂict on the
psychological separation and adjustment of college students. They proposed
that college students' involvement in their parents disputes negatively affects
their progress on developmental tasks. In particular, over-involvement in the
parents' marriage is incompatible with effective separation. The results
indicated that high levels of parent marital conﬂict were associated with high
levels of intrapsychic conﬂict between adolescents and their mothers and
fathers. They concluded that parent marital conﬂict signiﬁcantly affects
college students' psychological separation. Similarly, Frank and Burke
( 1992) found a relationship between parent marital conﬂict and parent/child
relationship variables. In particular, increased parent marital conﬂict was
associated with greater deidealization, functional autonomy (i.e., not
depending on parents for assistance or advice), and insecurity and with less
relatedness in relation to either mothers or fathers. In both studies, the
researchers demonstrated a relationship between parent marital conﬂict and
the adolescents' ability to psychologically separate from their parents.

This relationship between parent marital conﬂict and
separation/individuation is particularly important to the present study in light

of the research demonstrating high levels of parent marital conﬂict in

20
alcoholic families. Research consistently reports higher parent marital

conﬂict in alcoholic couples when compared to couples without a drinking
problem (Berlin. Davis & Orenstein. 1988: Black et al.. 1986: Chafetz.
Blane, & Hill. 1971; Filstead, McElfresh, & Anderson. I981: Moos & Moos.
1984: O'Farrell & Birchler. 1987: Wright et al.. I990: Wright. Frank. &
Pirsch, I991). Benson & Heller (1987) reported that daughters of alcoholics.
in contrast to daughters of normal fathers. recalled signiﬁcantly greater
conﬂict between their parents during the last ﬁve years they lived at home.
In particular, they found that distressed daughters were more likely to have
come from families with higher levels of parent conﬂict. Similarly, Wright
et al. (1991) found that late adolescent children of alcoholics reported that
their parents were less able to resolve their differences and more likely to
involve the adolescent in their disputes than adolescents from non-alcoholic
families.

In sum, the aforementioned literature demonstrates a relationship
between difﬁculties in the separation-individuation process and some late
adolescent children of alcoholics problems forming intimate relationships.
However, the studies linking difficulties in the separation-individuation
process to parent marital conﬂict, accompanied by the high levels of parent
marital conﬂict in alcoholic families, highlight the importance of controlling
for parent marital conﬂict when studying the effects of being raised in an

alcoholic environment on late adolescent adjustment.

A Moderator in the Relationship between Separation-Inwiduation and
Intimacy in Alcoholic Families
Notably, the research to date indicates that only a portion of

adolescents raised in alcoholic environments have problems with

2|

development (e.g.. Benson & Heller. 1987). According to Cavall. Jones.
Runyan. Constantin-Page, and Velasquez (1993) the challenge facing
researchers is to identify with greater precision the characteristics by which
parental alcoholism leads to negative effects in some individuals and to
negligible effects in others. Several other researchers have investigated the
factors that account for this vulnerability or resilience among adolescent
children of alcoholics. Beardslee and Podorefsky (1987) found that an
important aspect of resilience was adolescents' ability to separate from their
alcoholic families. They studied resilient adolescents whose parents had
affective disorders and other psychiatric disorders (one of which was
alcoholism). The adolescents in a nonclinical sample (e. g., selected from
neighborhoods, health plans. etc.) who were considered resilient were
recontacted several years after the initial interviews to assess the stability of
their adaptive functioning. Of the 18 adolescents re-interviewed, 10 were
adolescents from alcoholic families. The results showed that only three of
the adolescents were not functioning well at the follow-up interview. These
adolescents were unable to understand what was happening in their parents'
lives and blamed themselves for their parents' behavior. They felt left out
and angry and had not been able to separate from their parents. These results
suggest that the disturbed adolescents were plagued by intrapsychic conﬂict
in parent/adolescent relationship. In addition, by blaming themselves for
their parents' shortcomings, they were preventing themselves from
recognizing their parents' fallibility and successfully deidealizing their
parents. In contrast, the remainder of the sample was able to clearly
distinguish between themselves and their parents' illness and reported very
little intrapsychic conﬂict in the parent/adolescent relationship. These

individuals described themselves as separate from their parents' illness and

22
not responsible for it. They were also able to think and act separately from
their parents. These adolescents' lack of intrapsychic conﬂict in relation to
their parents and their ability to recognize their parents fallibility and not
blame themselves for the parents' problems may be critical factors in their
continued adaptive functioning. Consequently, Beardslee and Podorefsky
concluded that one preventive strategy for at risk adolescents would be to
develop interventions aimed at enhancing their ability to psychologically
separate from their parents' illness. According to this hypothesis. if
adolescents were better able to deidealize their parents and reduce the
intrapsychic conﬂict in the parent/adolescent relationship. the adjustment
problems associated with adolescents raised in alcoholic environments
would be reduced.

In this study, I propose that it is a combination of the late adolescents'
inability to deidealize their parents and their intrapsychic conﬂict in the
parent/adolescent relationship that leads to the intimacy problems observed
in alcoholic families. Moreover, I suggest that deidealization will moderate
the relationship between the intrapsychic conﬂict found in alcoholic families
and adjustment problems (i.e., the negative implications of conﬂicts
surrounding separation-individuation would be magniﬁed by adolescents'
failure to recognize their parents' fallibility). For example, in the context of
high intrapsychic conﬂict, adolescents who are unable to successfully
deidealize their parents are more likely to take on the "bad" characteristics of
their parents, blame themselves for their parents' problems (e.g., alcoholism),
and see themselves as responsible for the tension (e.g., intrapsychic conﬂict)
in their relationship with their parents. These adolescents are, in turn, more

likely to avoid or see themselves as unworthy of intimate relationships.

23

Summary

The literature suggests that adolescents from alcoholic families
represent a population at risk. Parental alcoholism has been associated with
a number of problematic outcomes including internalizing and externalizing
problems and family dysfunction. In addition, both the research and clinical
literature indicate a relationship between parental alcoholism and
adolescents' problems with intimate relationships. The present study
proposes a model that suggests several variables that mediate this latter
relationship.

~One consistent ﬁnding in the literature is that adolescents raised in
alcoholic families have difﬁculty separating due to intense feelings of
conﬂict, guilt, and responsibility in relation to their parents." Given the
proposed high levels of intrapsychic conﬂict in alcoholic families and the
importance of the parent/adolescent relationship in an adolescent's capacity
for intimacy, it is hypothesized that intrapsychic conﬂict in the
adolescent/parent relationship mediates the relationship between parental
alcoholism and adolescents' capacity for intimacy even after controlling for
the effects of parent marital conﬂict.

Although the clinical literature supports a simple mediational model
between parental alcoholism and adolescents' capacity for intimacy, the
research literature points out that adjustment problems among late adolescent
children of alcoholics are not endemic. Therefore, the present study argues
for a more complex relationship between these variables. It is hypothesized
that adolescents' experiences of deidealization in relation to their mothers
and fathers will moderate the relationship between intrapsychic conﬂict in

the parent/adolescent relationship and adolescents' problems with intimacy.

24
In particular, deidealization of parental representations will either buffer or

exacerbate the negative effects of intrapsychic conﬂict in the
adolescent/parent relationship on the adolescents' capacity for intimacy.
Presumably the level of deidealization achieved by the adolescents impacts
their capacity for intimacy when caught up in intrapsychic conﬂicts with
their mothers and fathers, so that when adolescents are M to deidealize
their parents, it is expected that there will be a positive relationship between
intrapsychic conﬂict in the adolescent/parent relationship and feelings of
insecurity in adult relationships. Stated more simply, this implies that
adolescents who experience a great deal of intrapsychic conﬂict in their
relationships with their parents and are still resistant to deidealization are
more likely to have insecure attachments outside of the family. In contrast.
adolescents who experience a great deal of intrapsychic conﬂict in their
relationships with their parents but are able to deidealize their parents are
less likely to have insecure attachments outside of the family.‘ Likewise,
offspring from nonalcoholic families who experience similar disruptions in
the adolescent/ parent relationship would also be at risk for problems with

intimacy. *‘

HY POTH ES ES

It is hypothesized that parental alcoholism will inﬂuence adolescents'
attachment styles through the mediating effects of intrapsychic conﬂict and

the moderating effects of deidealization. More speciﬁcally:

I. It is hypothesized that adolescent children of alcoholics, when
compared to children of non-alcoholics, will have greater levels of
intrapsychic conﬂict in the parent/adolescent relationship, even after
controlling for perceived parent conﬂict.

2. It is hypothesized that adolescent children of alcoholics will have
more problems with intimacy then adolescents not raised by an alcoholic
parent.

3. It is hypothesized that adolescents' experiences of deidealization in
relations to their mothers and fathers will moderate the relationship between
intrapsychic conﬂict in the parent/adolescent relationship and adolescents'
problems with intimacy, in both alcoholic and non-alcoholic families. In
particular, there is expected to be a stronger positive relationship between
intrapsychic conﬂict in the parent/adolescent relationship and feelings of
insecurity in adult attachments in the context of low deidealization than in
the context of high deidealization. In addition, it is hypothesized that parent

alcoholism will further affect the nature of this relationship.

METHOD

Participants

Participants were 165 undergraduates (l 14 females and 51 males)
between 17 and 22 years of age selected from a larger group of 920 students
participating in a longitudinal study of "changing perceptions of parents and
self in the college years". The experimental group was selected from among
724 students who had completed all the relevant questionnaires for this
study. Using criteria detailed below, 17 male and 38 female adolescent
children of alcoholic fathers were identified ( 7.6% of the total sample).
Since only nine adolescents reported that they had an alcoholic mother, these
adolescent children of alcoholic mothers were excluded from both the
experimental and control groups. A comparison group was randomly
selected from participants who were matched for sex and parent marital
status and were from families with no history of parent drinking problems.
The comparison group was twice the size of the experimental group in order
to increase the power of the study (See Table l).

Fifty-three percent of the participants (n=87; 33 males and 54 females)
retained from the larger sample came from "intact" families, in that, a) they
came from "never-divorced" families or b) they had been living with a
biological parent and stepparent since age I l or younger and indicated on a
demographic background questionnaire that they regarded the stepparent
(rather than the biological counterpart) as the functional parent. The great

majority (93%) of these 87 participants were from never-divorced families.

26

27
The remaining 42% (n=78: 18 males and 60 females) of the sample were

from divorced or never-married families (See Table 1).

Table l

Breakdown of Participants by Sex, Paternal Alcoholism. and Parent Marital
Status

 

 

Intact Divorced
Males Females Males Females Total
Alcoholic Father I l 18 6 20 55
Non-Alcoholic Father 22 36 12 40 l 10
Total 33 54 18 60 165

Of the students selected for this study, 89.1% were White, 8.5% were
African-American. .6% were Hispanic-American, and 1.8% were Asian-
American. In addition, 45.5% were Freshmen, 31.5% were Sophomores,

15.2% were Juniors, 7.9% were Seniors.

Measures
Four constructs germane to this study were measured: parental
alcoholism, perceptions of parent conﬂict, separation-individuation, and late

adolescent attachment styles.

Parental Alcoholism
The Parent Alcohol Consumption Questionnai_r_e_ (Appendix A) was

used to identify participants with an alcoholic parent using criteria validated

28
by O'Malley. Carey. and Maisto (1986). These investigators validated

Schuckit's (I980) assumption that children's reports of their parent's major
alcohol-related problems (e.g.. marital separation or divorce. loss of
employment, two or more arrests from drunk driving, etc.) can be used to
identify a family history of alcoholism. In particular, O'Malley et al. found
that a child's report of at least one of the major alcohol-related consequences
of parental drinking identified true alcoholics better than reports of
frequency and quantity of parental alcohol consumption. Furthermore,
O'Malley et al. found that they could reduce false negative reporting if they
excluded parents who, according to the child, had experienced even minor
alcohol-related problems (e.g., economic distress, family shame, accidents,
etc.). Again, this approach was more reliable than children's reports of the
quantity and frequency of their parents' drinking. Accordingly, adolescents
who reported that their parents have experienced at least one major alcohol
related problem were included in the experimental group. In contrast, the
control group consisted of adolescents that reported that neither parent had
experienced either major or minor problems due to alcohol consumption.
There were two exceptions to this inclusion criterion. First, O'Malley
et al. considered "harm to health" a major drinking consequence, and
therefore, adolescents who endorsed this item alone would be placed in the
experimental group. Some participants in previous samples (Wright, Frank,
and Pirsch, 1990), however, did not indicate levels of quantity and frequency
of alcohol consumption that reﬂect excessive drinking, although they
endorsed "harm to health" as a consequence of alcohol consumption. This
endorsement may be due to a pre-existing health problem that necessitates
restriction of alcohol because even non-excessive amounts of alcohol

consumption might create a health risk. Additionally, some participants

29
might have believed that any amount of alcohol consumption could be

harmful to health. Identifying these parents as alcoholics would result in a
number of false positives. Therefore. participants who indicated that harm to
health was the only major consequence of parental drinking were only
included in the children of alcoholics group if the reported average
frequency and quantity of drinking met established standards for problem
drinking (see Cahalan and Cisin, 1968). Problem drinking in these cases
was deﬁned as the consumption of three or more drinks nearly everyday or
five or more drinks on each of one or more occasions per week. This
quantity and frequency requirement was not applied if additional
consequences were endorsed other than "harm to health".

The second exception applies to parents' period of active drinking. In
order for participants to be considered children of alcoholics, they must have
reported that the alcoholic parent did n_ot stop drinking before the subject
was thirteen years of age. Participants whose parents have not been actively
drinking since the subject was thirteen years old were excluded from both
the experimental and control groups. This inclusion criterion necessitates

that problem drinking was present during the participants adolescence.

Parent Conﬂict

A 13-item Perceptions of Parent Conﬂict Scale (PPCS) (Frank &
Burke, 1992; Appendix B) was used to measure late adolescents' perceptions
of their parents' ability to resolve marital conﬂicts ("My parents are able to
resolve disagreements fairly quickly"-negatively scored) and their parents'
efforts to involve them in their disputes ("My father tries to get me to side
with him when he ﬁghts with my mother"). Respondents rated each item on

a 4—point scale, indicating whether they strongly disagree. disagree, agree or

3O

strongly agree. Internal reliability for this measure is .87 as measured by
Cronbach's coefﬁcient alpha. A validity study compared 40 undergraduates'
perceptions of their parents' marital conﬂict (PPCS) with their parents'
reports of their marital functioning (Dyadic Adjustment Scale: Spanier &
Cole, 1974) and their ability to work together as parents (General Parenting
Alliance Scale: Frank, Jacobson, & Hole. 1988). The correlations between
late adolescents' perceptions and their parents' reports were -.80 and -.72.

respectively.

Separation-Individuation

Deidealization. The S—item Deidealization scale from the Emotional
Autonomy Scale (Steinberg & Silverberg. 1986: Appendix C) was used to
measure late adolescents' perceptions of their parents' omnipotence. Scale
items were rated on a 4—point scale ( l = strongly disagree to 4 2 strongly
agree) and assessed the degree to which respondents had relinquished
childish perceptions of parental infallibility ("My mother/father hardly ever
makes mistakes"-negative|y scored ; "Even when my mother/father and I
disagree, my mother/father is always right"-negatively scored). Internal
reliability for the this scale utilizing Cronbach's coefﬁcient alpha was .69
and .75 for the mother and father scales respectively.

Intrapsychic Conﬂict. The 25-item Conﬂictual Independence scale
from the Hoffman's (1984) Psychological Separation Inventory (Appendix
D) was used to measure the late adolescents' conﬂict in parent/child
relationship during the separation-individuation process. Respondents rated
each item on a 5-point scale from "not at all true for me" to "very true for
me". Scale items assessed the late adolescents' freedom for excessive guilt,

anxiety, responsibility, mistrust, inhibition, resentment, and anger in relation

31
to their mother and father separately (e.g.. "I feel I have obligations to my

mother/father that I wish I did not have": "I feel like I am constantly at war
with my mother/father"). Internal consistency for this scale utilizing
Cronbach's coefﬁcient alpha was .92 and .93 for the mother and father scales
respectively. (See Hoffman ( 1984) for information on reliability and

construct validity.)

Adult Attachment

Both the Hazan and Shaver's (1987) and Bartholomew's (I989)
dimensionalized Adult Attachment Questionnaire (Appendix E: Hazan &
Shaver) were used to evaluate late adolescents' attachment style. Hazan and
Shaver (I987) translated Ainsworth's descriptions of the three infant
attachment styles (anxious/ambivalent, secure, and avoidant) into terms
appropriate for adult romantic relationships and found roughly the same
proportions of the three attachment types as Ainsworth et al. (1978).
Participants used a 7-point Likert scale to rate the adept to which they
characterized their feelings in romantic love relationships as secure ("I ﬁnd it
relatively easy to get close to others and am comfortable depending on
them"), anxious/ambivalent ("I ﬁnd that others are reluctant to get as close as
I would like. I often worry that my partner doesn't really love me or won't
want to stay with me."), or avoidant ("I ﬁnd it somewhat uncomfortable
being close to others; I ﬁnd it difﬁcult to trust them completely, difﬁcult to
allow myself to depend on them"). (See Hazan and Shaver (1987) for the
items' construct validity.)

In addition to Hazan and Shaver's attachment scale, Bartholomew's
( 1990) version of the Adult Attachment Questionnaire (Appendix F) was

used to measure late adolescents' attachment in close relationships (as

32
opposed the romantic relationships: Hazan and Shaver. I987).

Bartholomew's self-report measure proposes four attachment styles.
Participants were asked to rate four descriptions according to the extent to
which each description corresponds to their feelings in close relationships.
While two of the styles (secure and preoccupied (anxious/ambivalent» are
highly correlated with Hazan and Shaver's measure (see Brennan. Shaver.
and Tobey, 1990), the remaining two styles distinguish between dismissing
avoidant ("I am comfortable without close emotional relationships. It is very
important to me to feel independent and self sufﬁcient.) and fearful avoidant
("I am somewhat uncomfortable getting close to others. I want emotionally
close relationships, but I ﬁnd it difﬁcult to trust others completely, or to
depend on them.") styles in close relationships. (See Bartholomew (1989)

for reliability and validity.)

Procedure

All participants were recruited from Introductory Psychology courses
at Michigan State University. Students received course research credit for
attending one 2—hour group testing session during which time they
completed an extensive battery of questionnaires assessing personal
background information, parenting styles, parental conﬂict, parental drinking
and their current relationship with their parents. In addition, participants
were asked to report on their ego identity functioning, attachment styles,
self—esteem and drug and alcohol consumption. The sessions were
conducted by undergraduate psychology research assistants and supervised
by a graduate student. The number of participants present at each testing

session varied between 15 and 75.

RESULTS

Descriptive Statistics

Intercorrelations. Intercorrelations between all predictors in the
proposed model are shown in Table 2. Deidealization and intrapsychic
conﬂict were moderately correlated for relationships with both mothers and
fathers. These correlations indicates, as psychoanalytic theorists have
argued, that separation is accompanied by emotional conﬂict for late
adolescents (Frank, Pirsch, & Wright, 1990; Bios, 1967; Hill & Holmbeck,
I986). Paternal alcoholism was modestly correlated with deidealization of
fathers and perceived parent conﬂict. However, no evidence was found for a
signiﬁcant relationship between paternal alcoholism and intrapsychic
conﬂict. In contrast, perceived parent conﬂict was moderately correlated
with deidealization of fathers and intrapsychic conﬂict in relation to both
fathers and mothers ‘In general, adolescents who perceived a great deal of
conﬂict in their parents' relationship were more likely to experience
intrapsychic conﬂict in their relationships with both mothers and fathers."

The intercorrelations among the adult attachment styles are shown in
Table 3. Both measures of secure attachment styles showed signiﬁcant
negative correlations with all of the remaining attachment styles. Each of
the insecure attachment styles from one system were highly correlated with
the corresponding attachment style in the other attachment system. Given
the numerous signiﬁcant correlations among these variables, I factor

analyzed these attachment styles in an attempt to reduce the potential

33

34
Table 2

Intercorrelations Among Perceived Parent Conﬂict, Paternal Alcoholism.
Intrapsychic Conﬂict in the Parent/Adolescent Relationship, and
Deidealization of Fathers and Mothers.

 

 

Relationship with Fathers: A 3_ i
1. Perceived Parent Conﬂict ,Zlb .52C .47C
2. Paternal Alcoholism .13 .21b
3. Intrapsychic Conﬂict .42c
4. Deidealization

Relationship with Mothers: 2_ 3_. 4
1. Perceived Parent Conﬂict ,21b .500 .14
2. Paternal Alcoholism .05 -.07
3. Intrapsychic Conﬂict .37c

4. Deidealization

Note. 3=p<.05; b:p<.01; Czp<.001; two-tailed.

35
Table 3

Intercorrelations Among the Adult Attachment Styles

2 i :1. i Q l
1. Secure3 -.30C -.60C .69C -.2ob -.41C -.17a
2. Anxious3 .03 -.29C .69C .193 -.09
3. Avoid3 _.42c .04 54c 32c
4. Secure4 -.31C -.49C -.30C
5. Anxious4 .14 -.04
6. Fearful4 .08

7. Dismissing4

&. Attachment styles followed by a 3 are based on Hazan and Shaver's
(1987) three category measure of adult attachments in romantic
relationships. Attachment styles followed by a 4 are based on
Bartholomew's (1990) four category measure of adult attachments in close
relationships.

a=p<.05; b=p<.01;C=p_<.001; two-tailed.

36
redundancy caused by using two similar measures. The factor analysis

showed different factors for alcoholic and non-alcoholic families (See Tables
4 and 5). Given these differences, I decided. in the end. to use individual
scales when investigating the relationship between paternal alcoholism and
adolescent attachment styles.

Analysis of Variance. A 2 (Sex) x 2 (Paternal Alcoholism) x 2 (Parent
Marital Status) ANOVA was run with perceived parent conﬂict as the
dependent variable. The results showed a signiﬁcant main effect for paternal
alcoholism (E( l ,157)=8.46, p<.01) and parent marital status
(E( l ,157)=19.45, p<.001). Neither the main effect for sex nor any of the
interaction effects were signiﬁcant. A comparison of group means indicated
that adolescents with alcoholic fathers reported signiﬁcantly higher levels of
parent conﬂict (mean=2.33) than adolescents with non-alcoholic fathers
(mean=2.03). Similarly, adolescents with divorced parents reported
signiﬁcantly higher levels of parent conﬂict (mean=2.35) than adolescents
with married parents (mean=l .93). Given these significant group
differences, the signiﬁcant correlations between perceived parent conﬂict
and most of the predictor variables in the model, and the considerable
literature indicating the wide range effects for parent conﬂict (e.g., West and
Prinz, 1987; Wright et al., 1990; Frank and Burke, 1992), the remainder of

the analysis controlled for perceived parent conﬂict.

Hypothesis 1
The ﬁrst hypothesis stated that adolescent children of alcoholics, when
compared to children of non-alcoholics, would have higher levels of

intrapsychic conﬂict in relation to both parents, even after controlling for

Table 4

Factor Analysis of Adult Attachment Styles for Adolescents with Alcoholic
Fathers

mm _Fac_t_g_r_l fa_ct_gr_l_l_ Factor Ill

Secure3 -.86 -. l 7 .l6
Anxious3 .18 .93 .l l
Avoid3 .82 -.04 -.05
Secure4 -.78 -.3I .23
Anxious4 .07 .94 .03
Fearful4 .73 .l l .48
Dismissing4 .17 -.10 -.92

Eigenvalue 3.01 1.62 l .06

% of Variance 43.0 23.2 15.2

Mg. Factor loadings greater than .50 are in boldface.

Attachment styles followed by a 3 are based on Hazan and Shaver's (1987)
three category measure of adult attachments in romantic relationships.
Attachment styles followed by a 4 are based on Bartholomew's (1990) four
category measure of adult attachments in close relationships.

38
Table 5

Factors Anab’sis of Adult Attachment Styles for Adolescents with Non-
Alcoholic Fathers

_Ygriibls. ML]. BEICJJI

Secure3 -.74 —.34
Anxious3 .04 .88
Avoid3 .84 —.09
Secure4 -.74 -.36
Anxious4 .05 .87
Fearful4 .73 .l l
Dismissing4 .57 -.21

Eigenvalue 2.90 1.64

% of Variance 41.5 23.4

N_ot§. Factor loadings greater than .50 are in boldface.

Attachment styles followed by a 3 are based on Hazan and Shaver's (1987)
three category measure of adult attachments in romantic relationships.
Attachment styles followed by a 4 are based on Bartholomew's (1990) four
category measure of adult attachments in close relationships.

39
perceived parent conﬂict. In order to test this hypothesis. a 2 (Adolescent

Sex) x 2 (Paternal Alcoholism) x 2 (Parent Marital Status) between-subjects
MANOCOVA with perceived parent conﬂict as the covariate was performed
on the parent/adolescent relationship variables: intrapsychic conﬂict in
relation to mothers and fathers and deidealization of mothers and fathers.
Both intrapsychic conﬂict and deidealization were included as dependent
variables because they are moderately correlated with one another and both
potentially function as mediators in the relationship between paternal
alcoholism and adolescents' problems with intimacy. The results showed
that the parent/adolescent relationship variables were significantly related to
the covariate (E(4.153)=17.l8, p<.001), and to both paternal alcoholism
(_E(4,153)=2.58, p<.05) and parent marital status (E(4,153)=3.11, p<.05). In
addition, there were significant two-way interactions for paternal alcoholism
x parent marital status (E(4,153)=2.54, p<.05), paternal alcoholism x
adolescent sex (_E(4,153)=2.50, p<.05), and parent marital status x adolescent
_se_x_(_E(4.153)=3.27, p<.05). The three-way interaction was not signiﬁcant.
Signiﬁcant univariate effects are shown in Table 6.

The univariate tests showed signiﬁcant main effects for paternal
alcoholism and parent marital status. However, these findings are not
interpretable because of several signiﬁcant interaction effects. Means for
deidealization of fathers in Table 7 indicate that differences on this variable
were found between adolescents from alcoholic and non-alcoholic families
only when families were divorced. In particular, adolescents from divorced
non-alcoholic families reported signiﬁcantly lower levels of deidealization
of fathers than adolescents from divorced alcoholic families. However, as
can be seen in Table 8, adolescents from divorced non-alcoholic families

reported signiﬁcantly higher levels of intrapsychic conﬂict with mothers

Table 6

40

Signiﬁcant Results of Univariate Tests of Paternal Alcoholism, Parent
Marital Status, Paternal Alcoholism x Parent Marital Status, Paternal
Alcoholism x Adolescent Sex, and Parent Marital Status x Adolescent Sex

Eff—63¢.l
ALC

Marital Status

Alc x Marital Status

Alc x Sex

Marital Status x Sex

Dependent Variable
Deidealization of Fathers
Deidealization of Fathers

Deidealization of Fathers

Conﬂict with Mothers
Conﬂict with Mothers

Deidealization of Fathers

Conﬂict with Fathers

d_f

1/156

1/156

1/156
1/156

1/156

1/156
1/156

9.81

5.75
5.83

4.15

5.01
4.68

p-value
.014

.002

.018
.017

.043

.027
.032

Note. Alc=Paterna1 Alcoholism; Conﬂict=lntrapsychic Conﬂict; Marital

StatuszParent Marital Status; Sex=Adolescent Sex

41
Table 7

Means for Deidealization of Fathers by Paternal Alcoholism and by Parent
Marital Status Adjusted for the Effect of Perceived Parent Conﬂict

 

Intact Divorced
Non—Alcoholic Father 2.99 3.06
Alcoholic Father 3.00 3.48

 

than adolescents from divorced alcoholic families. In contrast. adolescents
from intact non-alcoholic families reported signiﬁcantly lower levels of
intrapsychic conﬂict with mothers than adolescents from intact alcoholic

families.

Table 8

Means for Intrapsychic Conﬂict in Relation to Mothers by Paternal
Alcoholism and by Parent Marital Status Adjusted for the Effect of
Perceived Parent Conﬂict

 

Intact Divorced
Non-Alcoholic Father 1.94 2.12
Alcoholic Father 2.08 1.69

 

The means for the paternal alcoholism x adolescent sex interaction are
shown in Table 9. Males from non-alcoholic families reported significantly
higher levels of intrapsychic conﬂict with mothers than males from alcoholic
families. In contrast, females from non-alcoholic families reported
signiﬁcantly lower levels of intrapsychic conﬂict with mothers than females

from alcoholic families.

42
Table 9

Means for Intrapsychic Conﬂict in Relation to Mothers by Paternal
Alcoholism and by Adolescent Sex Adiusted for the Effect of Perceived
Parent Conﬂict

 

Males Females
Non-Alcoholic Father 2.09 1.97
Alcoholic Father 1.70 2.06

 

Finally, as can be seen in Tables 10 and 11, in intact families males
reported significantly lower levels of deidealization and intrapsychic conﬂict
with fathers than females. In contrast, in divorced families, females reported
signiﬁcantly lower levels of deidealization and intrapsychic conﬂict with

fathers than males.

Table 10

Means for Deidealization of Fathers by Parent Marital Status and by
Adolescent Sex Adiusted for the E_f:fect of Perceived Parent Conﬂict

Males Females
Intact 2.92 3.07
Divorced 3.38 3.15

43
Table l 1

Means for Intrapsychic Conﬂict in Relation to Fathers by Parent Marital
Status and by Adolescent Sex Adiusted for the Effect of Perceived Parent
Conﬂict

Males Females
Intact 1.80 2.10
Divorced 2.18 1.99

Contrary to the hypothesis. these results indicated that paternal
alcoholism does not affect adolescents' experiences of intrapsychic conﬂict
with fathers. However, paternal alcoholism interacted with both parent
marital status and adolescent sex in predicting intrapsychic conﬂict with
mothers. As predicted, these interactions indicated that females from
alcoholic families showed higher levels of intrapsychic conﬂict with mothers
than females from non-alcoholic families. Similarly, adolescents from intact
alcoholic families showed higher levels of intrapsychic conﬂict with mothers
than adolescents from intact non-alcoholic families. Unexpectedly. males
from non-alcoholic families show higher levels of intrapsychic conﬂict with
mothers than males from alcoholic families and adolescents from divorced
non-alcoholic families showed higher levels of intrapsychic conﬂict with
mothers then adolescents from divorced alcoholic families. *Even after
considering these interaction, the results indicate that only in unique
circumstances is paternal alcoholism associated with intrapsychic conﬂict
with mothers and in no incidence was paternal alcoholism associated with
intrapsychic conﬂict with fathers. Consequently, the ﬁrst hypothesis is

refuted. i“

44
Although adolescent sex did not have a direct effect on the

parent/adolescent relationship variables. adolescent sex interacted with both
paternal alcoholism and parent marital status. These interaction effects.

‘ along with prior research indicating that sons and daughters react differently
to paternal alcoholism (Williams, 1990). highlight the importance of
evaluating the effects of paternal alcoholism separately for males and
females. Consequently, the remainder of the analyses were done separately

for males and females.

Hypothesis 2

It was hypothesized that adolescent children of alcoholics would have
more problems with intimacy than adolescents from non-alcoholic families,
even after controlling for the effects of perceived parent conﬂict. In order to
test this hypothesis, a 2 (Adolescent Sex) x 2 (Paternal Alcoholism) x 2
(Parent Marital Status) between-subjects MANOCOVA with perceived
parent conﬂict as the covariate was performed on the eight attachment styles:
secure3, anxious3, avoid3, A/C. secure4, anxious4, fearful4, and
dismissing4. The results showed that the combined attachment variables
were signiﬁcantly related to adolescent sex (E(7,150)=2.08, p<.05) but not to
parent marital status, paternal alcoholism, or the interactions and as such,
they refuted the second hypothesis? The effects of adolescent sex on
attachment styles after adjusting for the covariate were investigated in
univariate analyses. Despite the significance of the multivariate statistic.

none of the univariate statistics reach signiﬁcance.

45
Hypothesis 3

Correlations. Before investigating whether deidealization would

 

moderate the relationship between intrapsychic conﬂict in the
parent/adolescent relationship and adolescents' problems with intimacy. it
was meaningful to investigate whether one or both of the parent/adolescent
relationship variables would have a direct effect on adolescents' capacity for
intimacy. Table 12 reports the univariate and partial correlations
(controlling for perceived parent conﬂict) between deidealization of parents
and intrapsychic conﬂict in the parent/adolescent relationship and adult
attachment styles for males and females. Most of the correlations linking
intrapsychic conﬂict or deidealization to adolescents' feeling of insecurity in
intimate relationships were insignificant for males. Among females, greater
intrapsychic conﬂict in the parent/daughter relationship was associated with
greater insecurity in romantic relationships. In addition, there was some
evidence for a link between females' deidealization of their mothers
insecurity in romantic relationships. Interestingly, nothing was significant

for close (as opposed to romantic) relationships.

Egression procedures. I used hierarchical regression analyses to test
the hypothesis that deidealization of parents would moderate the relationship
between intrapsychic conﬂict in the parent/adolescent relationship and
adolescents' problems with intimacy and whether paternal alcoholism would
alter the relationship between deidealization and intrapsychic conﬂict in
predicting adolescents adult attachment styles. For these analyses, all
variables entered into the regression were transformed into standardized
scores. In predicting adolescent attachment style. I first entered the main

effects for perceived parent conﬂict, paternal alcoholism, intrapsychic

46
Table 12

Univariate Correlations and Partial Correlations Controlling for Perceived
Parent Conﬂict Showingthe Relationship Between Intrapsychic Conﬂict and
Deidealization in Relation to Parents and Adult Attachment Styles for Males
and Females

 

 

Deidealization Intrapsychic Conﬂict

m. m Elli—CE M26
M93. u_r 91 at p_r u_r p_r gr. I!
Secure3 -.17 —.07 -.01 .01 -.05 .05 -. l 8 -. l4
Anxious3 -.00 -.03 -.09 -.09 .19 .20 .23 .24
Avoid3 .16 .01 .05 .01 .10 -.04 .15 .09
A/C3 .09 -.02 -.03 -.05 .19 .1 1 .25 .22
Secure4 -.15 -. 12 -.13 -. 12 -.04 .00 -.ll -.09
Anxious4 .00 -.02 -.02 -.O3 .03 .02 .17 .17
Fearful4 -.02 -.15 -.Ol -.03 .14 .06 .343 .32a
Dismissing4 .06 .05 .20 .20 -.13 -.17 .1 1 .1 1
Females
Secure3 -.18a -.13 -.14 -.11 -.21a -.15 -.19a -.15
Anxious3 .05 -.02 .03 .01 .33C .29C .30c .26b
Avoid3 .05 .02 .28C .27b .08 .05 .14 .12
A/C3 .08 .00 .23a .21a .29b .24b .32C .28C
Secure4 -.10 -.01 -.02 .01 -.17 -.08 -.17 -.1 l
Anxious4 -.03 -.07 -.04 -.05 .21a . 19a .10 .07
Fearful4 -.06 -.14 .03 .01 .03 -.05 .13 .08
Dismissing4 .13 .14 -.01 -.01 -.03 -.04 f -.03 -.03

Note. 3 and 4 indicate Hazan and Shaver's (1987) or Bartholomew's (1990)
adult attachment measure, respectively.
u_r=univariate correlations; p_mpartial correlations.

a:9<,05; bzp<.01; c=p<.001_: two-tailed.

47
conﬂict and deidealization into the regression analysis. 1 then used a

stepwise procedure to assess whether one or more of the three two-way
interaction terms between deidealization. intrapsychic conﬂict. and paternal
alcoholism (i.e., deidealization x intrapsychic conﬂict. paternal alcoholism x
intrapsychic conﬂict. paternal alcoholism x deidealization) would account
for additional variance in the outcome factor. Finally, the three-way
interaction between paternal alcoholism, deidealization. and intrapsychic
conﬂict was entered into the regression analysis (after controlling for all the
two-way interactions). These analyses were repeated for each of the four
parent/adolescent dyads.

Table 13 shows the signiﬁcant interactions for all four
parent/adolescent dyads. Eight of the ten signiﬁcant interactions were for
relationships with fathers (i.e., father/daughter and father/son); the remaining
two interactions were for the mother/daughter dyad. No interactions reached
signiﬁcance for the mother/son dyad. In addition, all of the signiﬁcant
interactions for males were predicting the four category measure of
attachment. In contrast, for females, most of the significant interactions
were predicting the three category measure of attachment; there was one
exception in both the father/daughter and mother/daughter dyads in which
the interactions predicted the four category measure of attachment.

In order to understand the nature of the significant interactions, it is
helpful to evaluate them separately for males and females. Only one
expected interaction was signiﬁcant for males in relation to either mothers or
fathers. One three-way interaction between parental alcoholism,
deidealization, and intrapsychic conﬂict reached signiﬁcance for the
father/son dyad in predicting dismissing attachments (beta=-.59,

chhange=.l7. p<.01). As can be seen in Figure l. the nature of the

48

Table I3

Interactions Predicting Hazan and Shaver's (1987) and Bartholomew's
(1990) Adult Attachment Styles for Males and Females

Three Categog Measure

Four Category Measure

 

 

Father/Son Dyad Father/Son Dyad
Interaction Style jig/£13; Beta
Alc x IC Secure4 .113 -.33
Alc x [C Anxious4 .08a .29
Alc X 1C Fearful4 .1 1a .34
3-Way Dismiss4 .17b —.59
Mother/Son Dyad Mother/Son Dyad
F other/Daughter Dyad F other/Daughter Dyad
Interaction Style 3.2.lcha Beta Interaction Style 32.19113 Beta
Deid x IC Secure3 .05a .23 Deid X 1C Fearful4 _04a -.22
Deid X 1C A/C3 .04a -.22
3-Way Avoid3 .06b —.29
M other/Daughter Dyad M other/Daughter Dyad
Interaction Style 321% Beta Interaction Style 32/_c_ha Beta
3-Way Avoid3 .04b .27 Deid X 1C Secure4 .06b .28

 

Note. 2-way interactions were entered stepwise. 3-way interactions are
based on separate regression analyses in which all 2-way interactions were

force entered into the equation.

Alc=Paternal Alcoholism; Deid=Deidealization: lC=Intrapsychic Conﬂict

a=p<.05: b=p<.01; C=2<-001

Non-Alcoholic Fathers: 49

 

    
 

 

 

 

 

0.8
High Deidealization
H 0.6 - ’ v0
2: ' a r
o , . r
E 0.4 - , 0'
.= , , .
o g . '
$2 0.2 - ’
<
:1 -0.0 -
3
“c
<C -02-
2°
-;5 -0.4 "'
E
g -0.6 - /
D -0.8 - Low Deidealization
’ 1 .0 l I I
-1 0 1
Intrapsychic Conﬂict
Alcoholic Fathers:
1 G. . . . .
0'8 ~‘ High Deidealization

0.6 -,

-O.4 '-

-O.6 "

Dismissing Adult Attachment
2
1

~08 1

 

 

 

 

‘1.0J l
-I 0 I

Intrapsychic Conﬂict

Figure l. Interactions between males' experiences of deidealization and
intrapsychic conﬂict in relation to alcholic and non-alcoholic fathers in
predicting Bartholomew's dismissing adult attachment style.

50
interactions between deidealization and intrapsychic conﬂict in the

father/son relationship varied as a function of paternal alcoholism. In
alcoholic families. high levels of intrapsychic conﬂict in the father/son
relationship were strongly linked to a dismissing approach to intimate
relationships among sons reporting low levels of deidealization. In contrast.
intrapsychic conﬂict in the father/son relationship was negatively related to a
less dismissing attitude towards intimate relationships among sons of
alcoholics fathers reporting high deidealization. The exact opposite pattern
of interaction was found for the non-alcoholic families, i.e., the relationship
between intrapsychic conﬂict and a dismissing style of attachment was
positive in the context of high deidealization and negative in the context of
low deidealization.

In the father/son dyad, three unexpected two-way interactions between
paternal alcoholism and intrapsychic conﬂict in the father/son relationship
reached statistical signiﬁcance in predicting secure, anxious. and fearful
attachment styles. As can be seen in Figures 2, 3, and 4, high levels of
intrapsychic conﬂict in the father/son relationship were strongly linked to
feelings of insecurity in intimate relationships among sons raised in
alcoholic families. In contrast, for adolescents raised in non-alcoholic
families, correlations between intrapsychic conﬂict in the father/son
relationship and feelings of insecurity in intimate relationships were in a
somewhat negative direction. These interactions demonstrate that
intrapsychic conﬂict in the father/son dyad means something different for
sons from alcoholic versus non-alcoholic families regardless of
deidealization.

For females, all the signiﬁcant interactions were expected and

supported the hypothesis that deidealization would moderate the relationship

£.II '

 

    

-()_4 — Alcoholic Father

-().(3 "

Secure Adult Attachment

-(l.23 "

 

 

 

-1.() I r r
-1 0 1

Intrapsychic Conﬂict

Figure 2 . Interaction between paternal alcoholism and males' experiences
of intrapsychic conﬂict in relation to fathers in predicting Bartholomew's
secure attachment style.

U1
is.)

 

 

(1.8
"-" " Alcoholic Father
7.:
U (1.4 "I \ ’ I o
E a
_C I
' D —
§ 0.-
< (1.1) -
'5
"a -o 2 J .
< . ' Non-Alcoholic Father
U: I
3 -().'-’I " I
.2 O
E -(I.(w ‘
<
-().8 T

 

 

 

- 1 .o , , I
Intrapsychic Conﬂict

Figure 3. Interaction between paternal alcoholism and males' experiences
of intrapsychic conﬂict in relation to fathers in predicting Bartholomew's
anxious attachment style.

'JI
'JJ

 

0.8
(If) ‘
E Non-alcoholic Father ’0
0 0.4 " I
E \ I,
I
'5 o 2 - I
53 /
< oo - ’1
z 0’
3 _
"U 0 2 I’
< ,’
3 -6..- , \
E ” Alcoholic Father
Q) -(I.6 '1 ’
LL. I
I
41.8 4 O

 

 

 

-1.o , , I
—1 o 1

Intrapsychic Conﬂict

Figure 4. Interaction between paternal alcoholism and males' experiences
of intrapsychic conﬂict in relation to fathers in predicting Bartholomew's
fearful attachment style.

54
between intrapsychic conﬂict in the adolescent/parent relationship and adult
attachment styles. Three two-way and one three-way interaction reached
signiﬁcance for the father/daughter dyad and one two-way and one three-
way interaction reached signiﬁcance for the mother/daughter dyad. Since
the pattern is similar for all of these interactions. the father/daughter and the
mother/daughter dyads will be discussed together. In particular, females'
deidealization of their fathers interacted with intrapsychic conﬂict in the
father/daughter dyad in predicting secure, fearful, and A/C attachment styles
and females' deidealization of their mothers interacted with intrapsychic
conﬂict in the mother/daughter dyad in predicting secure attachments. (See
Table 12 for betas and RZ/changes.) As can be seen from the plots of the
interaction effects in Figures 5, 6. 7, and 8, in all four interactions, high
levels of intrapsychic conﬂict in the daughter/parent relationship were
strongly linked to feelings of insecurity in intimate relationships among
adolescent females reporting low levels of deidealization. In contrast,
intrapsychic conﬂict in the parent/daughter relationship for the most part was
unrelated and in one instance (see Figure 7) was slightly negatively related
to insecure attachments in the context of high deidealization.

In addition, two three-way interactions reached statistical signiﬁcance
in predicting avoidant attachment styles for females (one dealing with
relationships with mothers and one dealing with relationships with fathers).
As shown in Figures 9 and 10, the interaction pattern for alcoholic families
was similar to the pattern found for the father/son dyad in predicting
dismissing styles of attachment (Figure 1), Le, the relationship with
intrapsychic conﬂict and avoidance was positive in the context of low
deidealization and negative in the context of high deidealization. However,

in non-alcoholic families, deidealization either did not moderate the

'JI
'JI

 

  
  

(1.8
0,6 "‘ . . .
.. Low Deidealization
E (14 q
E
'5 (1,2 —
ca
3:
<1: (1.0-
..*.'..'
= ’5 —
'0 ‘(l-- . . . .
< High Deidealization
O.) -().4 d
3—
:3
0
cu -().6 d
m
-().8 ﬁ

 

 

 

'1-0 I r 1

Intrapsychic Conﬂict

Figure 5. Interaction between females' experiences of deidealization and
intrapsychic conﬂict in relation to fathers in predicting Hazan and Shaver's

secure attachment style.

'J I
0‘

 

(1.8
(m —
E 0.4 A
c)
E (, '3 _.
; ..-
u
c:
z oo-
<
H
— D —i
3 (L.
"o
< -044
U
\
< -o.o -
-().8"

 

    

Low Deidealization

 

 

-1.(i

.—
A
v
.—

lntrapsychic Conﬂict

Figure 6. Interaction between females' experiences of deidealization and
intrapsychic conﬂict in relation to fathers in predicting A/C adult
attachment style based on Hazan and Shaver's measure.

1.11
\I

 

(1.8

High Deidealization

 

Fearful Adult Attachment
1’

 

 

 

-().4 a Low Deidealization

-().6 'i

-().8 -

- 1.0 , ﬂ 4
-l 0 l

Intrapsychic Conﬂict

Figure 7. Interaction between females' experiences of deidealization and
intrapsychic conﬂict in relation to fathers in predicting Bartholomew's

fearful attachment style.

 

   
  

Low Deidealization

High Deidealization

 

 

 

11.8
(1(1—
5 (i.4~
E
+3 (1.2 -
cc
3::
< oo—
2
3 o .—
“U -(l._
<
a) 41.4“
I—
8
Q) -(l.(w-‘
m
41.8"
-I.()

Intrapsychic Conﬂict

Figure 8. Interaction between females' experiences of deidealization and
intrapsychic conﬂict in relation to mothers in predicting Bartholomew's
secure attachment style.

59

Non-Alcoholic Fathers:

 

08

0.6 -l

0-4 "‘ Low Deidealization

-00‘

 

—02‘

O ' ' High Deidealization

-o.4 -

-Q6‘

Avoidant Adult Attachment

-08‘

 

 

 

‘L0 r I 1
O l

I
_O

Intrapsychic Conﬂict

Alcoholic Fathers:

 

08

 
 

06‘ High Deidealization

 

04‘

Avoidant Adult Attachment

   

Low Deidealization

 

 

 

”1.0 I I I
4 0 I

Intrapsychic Conﬂict
Figure 9. Interactions between female's experiences of deidealization and

intrapsychic conﬂict in relation to alcoholic and non-alcoholic fathers in
predicting Hazan and Shaver's avoidant adult attachment style.

Non-Alcoholic Fathers: 60

 

 

 

 

 

08
(1.6 —
H ' . . .
5 , d High Deidealization ' . O
0.4 . ,
E \ II ’ ’
2% 0.2 a ' , , 0’
a _
3:. -0.0 O
{‘5
-().2 '- F
< /+ _ I
g -04 d . . .
“U Low Deidealizatron
'§ -0.6 4
<
-O.8q
-1.0 I I i

-1 o 1
Intrapsychic Conﬂict

Alcoholic Fathers:

 

0.8 - 0 ~ ‘ High Deidealization

0.6% “‘..~/

.0.4 -

  

-0.6 ‘1

Avoidant Adult Attachment

Low Deidealization

 

-0.8 4

 

 

 

'1-0 r 1 1
-l O

Intrapsychic Conﬂict

ﬂ

Figure 10. Interactions between female's experiences of deidealization and
intrapsychic conﬂict in relation to mothers in predicting Hazan and
Shaver's avoidant adult attachment style for females with alcoholic and
non-alcoholic fathers.

61
relationship between intrapsychic conﬂict and adolescent attachment style

(Figure 9) or else the relationship between intrapsychic conﬂict and
avoidance was positive in the context of high deidealization and unrelated in

the context of low deidealization (Figure 10).

Additional Analyses. In order to rule out the possibility that the
interactions between paternal alcoholism and intrapsychic conﬂict in the
father/son dyad and the three way interactions were actually a function of the
effects of perceived parent conﬂict. I re-ran the previous regression analyses
with the only alterations in the aforementioned procedures being that l
additionally tested the two two-way perceived parent conﬂict interactions
(perceived parent conﬂict x deidealization and perceived parent conﬂict x
intrapsychic conﬂict) and the three-way interaction between perceived parent
conﬂict, deidealization and intrapsychic conﬂict. Again, these analyses were
run separately for each of the four adolescent/parent dyads.

Adding the perceived parent conﬂict interactions to the regression
analyses did not eliminate or signiﬁcantly alter any of the aforementioned
ﬁndings. In addition, only two interactions involving perceived parent
conﬂict reached significance. In particular, one two-way interaction reached
signiﬁcance in which deidealization of mothers moderated the relationship
between perceived parent conﬂict and secure attachment for males
(beta=.33, R2=.10, p_<.05); and one three-way interaction in the
mother/daughter dyad reached signiﬁcance (beta=.24, R2=.03, p<.05).

DISCUSSION

The literature suggests that adolescent children of alcoholics are at
risk for problems with intimacy. One goal of the proposed study was to
articulate some of the variables that might account the difﬁculties in forming
intimate relationships found in alcoholic families. In particular, this study
examined whether paternal alcoholism was linked to higher levels of
intrapsychic conﬂict in the parent/adolescent relationship and whether
deidealization of parents moderated the relationship between intrapsychic

conﬂict in the parent/adolescent relationship and problems with intimacy.

The Relationship between Paternal Alcoholism and Intrapsychic Conﬂict

and Capacity for Intimacy

It was hypothesized that paternal alcoholism would be related to
higher levels of intrapsychic conﬂict in parent/adolescent relationships.
Although there was no evidence to support this hypothesis, there were
several theoretically interesting relationships between paternal alcoholism
and intrapsychic conﬂict in the adolescent/mother relationship. For
example, the level of intrapsychic conﬂict in the mother/adolescent
relationship was found to be lowest in the alcoholic/divorced group when
compared to non-alcoholic/divorced, non—alcoholic/ intact , and
alcoholic/ intact groups-{It is surprising that the intrapsychic conﬂict is

lowest in a group that is doubly at risk for problems because of the parent

62

63
divorce and the paternal alcoholism. However. it can be hypothesized that in

these families. the adolescents live with the non-alcoholic mother and are
sheltered from the effects of paternal alcoholism and possibly grateful to
their mother for rescuing them from the potentially abusive alcoholic
environment. In addition. it is conceivable that given the loss of a father
ﬁgure, these adolescents are particularly dependent on their mothers and
consequently defensively deny any problems in their relationship with their
mother for fear of losing their mother as well. This explanation can also be
applied to a second somewhat similar ﬁnding in which males with alcoholic
fathers experienced less intrapsychic conﬂict in their relationships with their
mothers than males without an alcoholic father or females with or without an
alcoholic father. It can be hypothesized that males are more affected by the
loss of a positive male role model due to paternal alcoholism since
identification with a male role model is central to males' development and
separation from their mothers. Consequently, males confronted with the
losses associated with having an alcoholic father may be more likely than
females to cling to their mother and potentially deny any conﬂict in that
relationship.

' Despite the extensive literature indicating that parental alcoholism is
associated with both higher levels of intrapsychic conﬂict in the
parent/adolescent relationship and problems with intimacy, these results did
not support either of these ﬁndings? One reason for this discrepancy may be
found in the manner in which parental alcoholism was deﬁned. In particular,
a much stricter deﬁnition of parental alcoholism was used in the present
study than in many of the reviewed studies. Firstly, unlike other researchers
(e.g., Brennan etal., 1990; Latty-Mann & Davis, 1988; Wright, Frank, &

Pirsch, 1991), only those adolescents whose descriptions of their fathers'

64
drinking met validated criteria for alcoholism and were not just indicative of

problem drinking were included in the alcoholic group. Secondly. in
studying the role of parental alcoholism on late adolescents' capacity for
intimacy, the present study focused speciﬁcally on adolescents from father-
alcoholic families. Although the sex of the alcoholic parent can significantly
alter the pattern of adjustment outcomes among adolescent offspring
(Chassin, Rogosch, & Barrera. 1991: Werner. 1986). previous investigations
have at times made no distinction between participants with alcoholic
mothers and those with alcoholic fathers (Pandina & Johnson. 1990; Black et
al., 1986; Latty-Mann & Davis, 1988; Brennan et al., 1990) or between
participants with alcoholic fathers only and those whose parents were both
alcoholic (Sher, Walitzer, Wood, & Brent, 1991; Brennan et al., 1990; Latty-
Mann & Davis, 1988). To control for differences in the sex of the alcoholic
parent and the low base rate for alcoholism among mothers (Russel, 1990),

"I the present study limited the investigation to only adolescent children of
alcoholic fathers? Limiting the experimental group to adolescents with
alcoholic fathers, as opposed to alcoholic mothers or problem drinking
mothers or fathers, may account for the disparity between the results of this
study and the ﬁndings presented in previous research.

In addition, most of the aforementioned researchers (e.g., Benson &
Heller, 1987; Black et al.. 1986: Brennan et al., 1990; Latty-Mann & Davis.
1988) did not control for the effects of parent marital conﬂict when
investigating the effects of parental alcoholism on adolescent development.
Consequently, some of the conclusions regarding the role of parental
alcoholism on adolescents' development of problems with intimacy or
intrapsychic conﬂict in the parent/adolescent relationship may actually be

due to the effects of parent marital conﬂict. The results of this study clearly

65
demonstrated the importance of controlling for parent marital conﬂict when

predicting intrapsychic conﬂict in the parent/adolescent relationship. In
particular. this study's ﬁndings showed that females report higher levels of
perceived parent conﬂict in alcoholic families and that both males and
females report an association between perceived parent conﬂict and
intrapsychic conﬂict in the parent/adolescent relationship. Both of these
ﬁndings support Wright eta1.'s (1990) conclusions that parental alcoholism
is a relatively distal predictor of the quality of the parent/adolescent
relationship and problems in close relationships that operates through other

variables such as parent marital conﬂict.

The Relationship between Separation-Individuation Variables and
Capacity for Intimacy
Whereas several interesting ﬁndings were found for the implications

of females' and males' relationships with their fathers on their intimacy
experiences, fewer relationships were found for the association between
intrapsychic conﬂict in the mother/adolescent relationship and males' and
females' problems with intimacy. This discrepancy seems to imply that
adolescents' relationships with their fathers play a more crucial role in their
developing capacity for intimacy than their relationships with their mothers.
In contrast, Cavell et al. (1993) found that maternal relationships were the
most predictive of child adjustment, even in the context of a father-alcoholic
family environment. However, this study's ﬁndings are consistent with
neoanalytic theories which emphasize the importance of the father ﬁgure as
vehicle of separation for both males and females. If the father ﬁgure is an
alcoholic and accordingly there is intense conﬂict in the father/adolescent

relationship, it is possible that the utility of the father in the separation-

66
individuation process may be jeopardized. Consequently. it is not surprising

that males and females in this context may have difﬁculty separating from
their families and establishing emotionally close relationships outside of the
family.

Another overall trend was observed for the system (i.e., three versus
four category) of attachment styles predicted by males and females. with
signiﬁcant interactions predicting the four category measure of attachment
for males and the three category measure for females. The consistency of
the distinction between the two attachment measures is surprising given that
the two measures are highly correlated and thought to be conceptually
similar. However, there is one major and obviously important difference
between the measures (besides the number of categories). The three
category measure refers to romantic relationships, whereas the four category
measure refers to emotionally close relationships in general. According to
this distinction, the parent/adolescent relationship variables are only
inﬂuential in predicting close relationships for males and romantic
relationships for females. In particular, the father/son relationship variables
only impacted males level of security in emotionally close, as opposed to
romantic, relationships. This ﬁnding suggests that the father/son relationship
has little effect on the sons' security in romantic relationships. In contrast,
difﬁculties in the father/daughter relationship have implications for
daughters' security in romantic relationships while having less of an impact
of their security in close relationships in general. It could be argued that
females' relationship with their fathers only affects their security in romantic
relationships and, assuming that the majority of females are heterosexual,
their relationships with men. In contrast, males relationship with their

fathers appears to impact their security in their relationships with their peers.

67
Although this study did not corroborate previous research revealing a

direct link between paternal alcoholism and either increased intrapsychic
conﬂict in the parent/adolescent relationship or problems with intimacy. it
did establish the importance of evaluating the effects of separation-
individuation variables on adolescents' problems with intimacy. As the
literature predicted, intrapsychic conﬂict in the father/daughter,
mother/daughter. and mother/son relationships had implications for the
adolescents' capacity for intimacy. In particular, excessive anger, guilt, and
role reversal in the adolescent/parent relationship had a direct negative effect
on the adolescents' ability to form secure, trusting intimate relationships.
However, the impact of intrapsychic conﬂict in the father/son relationship
was not as simple. In fact, only in the context of an alcoholic-father/son
relationship was there a link between higher levels of intrapsychic conﬂict in
the father/son dyad and problems with intimacy. This ﬁnding indicates that
males experiencing a great deal of anger, guilt, and responsibility in their
relationship with their alcoholic fathers are more likely to feel insecure about
forming close, trusting relationships with peers. However, the opposite
relationship was found for non-alcoholic fathers and their sons. More
speciﬁcally, less intrapsychic conﬂict in the non-alcoholic father/son
relationship was slightly associated with more insecurity in intimate
relationships. While this ﬁnding may appear counterintuitive, it is
consistent with Frank and Poorman's (1993) work demonstrating that in the
context of a less conﬂicted family environment (analogous to non-alcoholic
family), separation from fathers (analogous to little intrapsychic conﬂict in
the father/adolescent relationship) was associated with more feelings of
insecurity in the parent/adolescent relationship (analogous to insecurity in

intimate relationships). These authors argued that in the context of a positive

68
environment. adolescents had more to lose by separating from their parents

and were consequently less motivated and more anxious about confronting
normative developmental tasks which would enable them to become adults
and form more adult relationships.

Like other investigators, the present study found that the intrapsychic
processes associated with separating from parents tended to put at least some
adolescents at risk for experiences of insecurity in intimate relationships.
However. the more intriguing results were that deidealization of parents
altered the degree of risk, and also the probability of benefits accruing from
the separation-individuation processes of late adolescence.

Notably, in only one incidence was deidealization an effective
moderator between intrapsychic conﬂict in the parent/adolescent relationship
and males' problems with intimacy. However, the nature of the impact of
deidealization varied as a function of the paternal drinking status. Among
males raised in father-alcoholic families, deidealization moderated the
relationship between intrapsychic conﬂict in the father/son dyad and males'
avoidance of close relationships. In particular, when males were unable to
deidealize their alcoholic fathers, excessive feelings of guilt, anger, and role
reversal in the father/son dyad were associated with the sons' avoidance of
close relationships . In contrast, the opposite relationship was found for sons
who were able to deidealize their alcoholic fathers. In these cases, males
who experienced extremely low levels of conﬂict in the father/son dyads
(i.e., little guilt, anger, and role reversal) were more likely to dismiss any
desire for close relationships.

Among males raised in non-alcoholic families, deidealization also
moderated the relationship between intrapsychic conﬂict in the father/son

relationship and son's avoidance of close relationships but in the opposite

69
direction as found in alcoholic families. In particular. males who were

raised by non-alcoholic fathers and experienced high levels of intrapsychic
conﬂict in the father/son dyad showed different patterns of establishing close
relationships depending on their ability to deidealize their fathers. Those
males who were able to deidealize their fathers (possibly denigrating them
and/or blaming them for the intrapsychic conﬂict in their relationship),
indicated that they placed greater value on being independent and self
sufﬁcient than on close relationships. In contrast, those males who idealized
their fathers, in spite of the excessive intrapsychic conﬂict in their
relationship, indicated that they highly valued intimate relationship and did
not want to live without them. It can be hypothesized that these males who
are unable to recognize their non-alcoholic father's fallibility despite the
intense intrapsychic conﬂict in their relationship may blame themselves for
the problems and be unable to see themselves as functioning independently.
Consequently, they may report that they are less likely to value
independence and self-sufﬁciency close relationships because they to not
believe they can function by themselves.

Deidealization was a more predictable moderator between
intrapsychic conﬂict in the parent/adolescent relationship and females'
problems with intimacy than males' problems with intimacy. As expected,
females who experienced high levels of intrapsychic conﬂict in the
parent/daughter relationship but were unable to see their parents' fallibility,
had difﬁculty forming close relationships. In spite of the excessive anger,
guilt, and role reversal in the parent/daughter relationship, these females
were unable to successfully deidealize their parents and presumably blamed
themselves for the tension in their relationship with their parents. In turn,

they did not feel secure in or see themselves as deserving of close intimate

70
relationships(i.e.. low levels of security or high levels fear in close

relationships). In contrast. the pattern for females who were able to
deidealize their parents indicated there was no relationship between
intrapsychic conﬂict in the parent/daughter relationship and feelings of
insecurity. However. it is important to note that the strength of these
ﬁndings were greater for females' relationships with their fathers. as opposed
to their relationship with their mothers.

The implications for the above ﬁndings regarding the effect of
deidealization as a moderator between intrapsychic conﬂict in the
parent/daughter relationship and females problems with intimacy are
independent of paternal alcoholism. However, a similar pattern of
interactions was found for daughters of alcoholic fathers when predicting
avoidant attachment styles. In particular, females raised in alcoholic
families who experienced excessive feelings of guilt, anger, and
responsibility in the parent/daughter dyads but were unable to see their
parents' fallibility, had difﬁculty trusting and depending on signiﬁcant
others. In contrast, females raised in alcoholic families who experienced
extremely low levels of conﬂict in the parent/daughter dyads (i.e., little guilt,
anger, and role reversal) and yet deidealized their mothers or fathers, were
more likely to ﬁnd it difﬁcult to trust and depend on signiﬁcant others. This
pattern of interaction was similar to those described above for males raised
in alcoholic families.

In contrast to males, in non-alcoholic families the relationship
between intrapsychic conﬂict in the parent/daughter relationship and
daughters' capacity for intimacy was not dependent on the daughters ability
to deidealize their parents. In particular for females raised in non-alcoholic

families, intrapsychic conﬂict was weakly positively associated with

71
discomfort in close relationships. regardless of their levels of deidealization

of their parents. The major difference between males and females raised in
non-alcoholic families can be found when evaluating the relationship
between intrapsychic conﬂict in the adolescent/parent relationship and
problems with intimacy in the context of low deidealization. For females.
there is the expected positive relationship between intrapsychic conﬂict in

the parent/daughter dyads and avoidance of close relationships.

Implications of Perceived Parent Conﬂict

While perceived parent conﬂict was signiﬁcantly correlated with most
of the predictor variables in the model, controlling for perceived parent
conﬂict interactions did not alter or signiﬁcantly add to the understanding of
the relationship between separation-individuation variables and problems
with intimacy. Consequently, it can be concluded that paternal alcoholism is
n_ot simply a more distal variable that inﬂuences adolescents' capacity for
intimacy through the effect of perceived parent conﬂict. Rather the lack of
signiﬁcant perceived parent conﬂict interactions seems to demonstrate that
the pattern of interactions described above is unique to the characteristic of
being raised in an alcoholic family and not simply the result of higher levels

of parent conﬂict found in alcoholic families.

Methodolﬁogical Limitations and Future Directions
Representativeness of the sample
A number of potential sampling biases may limit the generalizability
of this study. Firstly, given the racially homogeneous nature of the sample,
conclusions based on this study are limited to White adolescents. Secondly,

the percentage of adolescent children of alcoholic identiﬁed in this study is

72
sionificantl ’ lower than ex .ected based on the national averaoe. According
c C b

to a review by Russel, Henderson, and Blume (1985). reasonable estimates
suggest that at least 10% of the population can be considered to be "children
of alcoholics". In the present study only 8.8% of the 724 possible
participants were identiﬁed as having an alcoholic parent. However. when
the number of identiﬁed children of alcoholics is broken down by sex, the
percentage of females who report having an alcoholic parent resembles that
of the national average (10.9% for females versus 6.4% for males). The lack
of discrepancy for females, as opposed to males, is because over twice as
many females identiﬁed themselves as children of alcoholics, making the
sample of male children of alcoholics particularly small. The small sample
of males who reported having an alcoholic parent is consistent with other
research indicating that females were more likely than males to report
parental alcoholism (Midanik, 1983) and may account for the lack of
signiﬁcant findings for males.

Finally, it is questionable whether and to what extent results based on
a sample of college students will generalize to other less privileged groups of
late adolescents, or to samples of younger adolescents. In addition, the
method of recruiting college students generates another potential sampling
bias. In particular. the study relied on introductory psychology classes as the
subject pool. Meilman, Stone, Gaylord, and Turco (1990) note that samples
gathered for college studies are samples of convenience, such as large
introductory psychology classes, and may not be representative of the entire

college population.

73
Measures

In addition to sampling biases, several other factors may limit the
generalizability of the present ﬁndings. The use of self -report data makes it
impossible to determine if participants are accurately reporting information.
For example, in this study it is impossible to differentiate participants who
might be denying intrapsychic conﬂict in the adolescent/alcoholic
relationship from those who are accurately describing unusually harmonious
adolescent/alcoholic relationships. Future research should try to address this
concern by corroborating the self-report data with information obtained
directly from parents and/or intimate partners in order to validate
adolescents' reports of the parent/adolescent relationship and/or the quality
of intimate relationships, respectively.

Finally, the present study is somewhat limited by the use of cross-
sectional data because descriptions of adolescent/parent relationships, based
on cross-sectional data, often overlook the complexity of these relationships
and the transformations that occur over time. In addition, cross-sectional

methodologies limit causal interpretations.

Conclusions

In spite of the methodological limitations, the results of this study
make several contributions to the understanding of the effects of paternal
alcoholism on adolescents' capacity for intimacy? First, the lack of a direct
relationship between paternal alcoholism and adolescents' problems with
intimacy indicated that adolescent children of alcoholics' speciﬁc
vulnerability to problems may not be related to the parental alcoholism per
se but rather a function of problems in the adolescent/parent relationship."

Secondly, the results indicate that deidealization plays an important role in

74
moderating the effects of intrapsychic conﬂict on adolescents' problems with

intimacy, both in alcoholic and non—alcoholic families. However, the
moderating effects of deidealization are much more apparent in the
adolescent/father relationship. as opposed to the adolescent/mother
relationship.

Probably the strongest recommendation to come from these and other
recent ﬁndings is that clinicians and researchers should not assume
pathology in the offspring of alcoholics. Instead, they should work towards
a better understanding of the factors that moderate the relationship between
parental alcoholism and adjustment problems in order to design prevention
and treatment programs that will effectively meet the needs of adolescent
children of alcoholics who are truly at risk. For example, the results of this
study suggest that enhancing the parent/adolescent relationship either by
reducing the levels of intrapsychic conﬂict between the adolescent and the
alcoholic parent or by facilitating deidealization of the alcoholic parent is an

important therapeutic goal when working with father-alcoholic families.

APPENDICES

Appendix A: Parent Alcohol Consumption Questionnaire

Parent Alcohol Consumption Questionnaire

Part I. My father drank most heavily when _I_was between the ages of years
and years.

For that Period, please respond to the following questions.

 

1. On the average. how often did your father drink any kind of alcoholic beverage
during a typical month? (Circle one.)

rarely

about once a month

2 to 3 times a month

I or 2 times a week

3 or 4 times a week
nearly every day

2 times a day

3 or more times a day

.30." 1".” P-P FT!”

2. When your father drank any kind of alcoholic beverage, what was the average
quantity be consumed; that is, how many drinks did he consume nearly every time
or more than half the times he drank? A standard drink is deﬁned as 4-oz glass of
wine. a 12-oz beer or a 1.5-oz drink of distilled spirits. (Circle one.)

a. rarely drank
b. 1-2
c. 3-4
d. 5—6
e. 7-8
f. 9-10
g. more than 10

3. Has your father experienced any of the following problems because of his
drinking? (Circle all that apply.)

a. marital separation or divorce g. economic distress
b. loss of employment h. accidents
c. 2 or more arrests for drunken driving i. loss of friends
(I. 2 or more arrest for public intoxication j. shame of family
or drunken and disorderly conduct k. belligerence, ﬁghting,
e. harm to health or marital discord
f. treatment for alcohol-related problems 1. a single alcohol related
arrest
4. Does your father presently drink I) the same amount or 2) less than

he did when he was drinking most heavily? (Check one.)
If you checked "2", what accounted for the change?

75

77

Part 111. Please answer the following about your parents' CURRENT drinking
practices.

I. On the average, how often does your father drink any kind of alcoholic
beverage during a typical month? (Circle one.)

rarely

about once a month

2 to 3 times a month

1 or 2 times a week

3 or 4 times a week

nearly every day

2 times a day

3 or more times a day

132° 7'2.“ P—P 9".”

2. When your father drank any kind of alcoholic beverage. what was the average
quantity he consumed: that is. how many drinks did he consume nearly every time
or more than half the times he drank? A standard drink is deﬁned as 4—02 glass of
wine. a 12-02 beer or a 1.5-oz drink of distilled spirits. (Circle one.)

a. rarely drank

. 1-2

c. 34
d. 5-6
e. 78
f. 9-10
g. more than 10

3. On the average, how often does your mother drink any kind of alcoholic
beverage during a typical month? (Circle one.)

rarely

about once a month

2 to 3 times a month

1 or 2 times a week

3 or 4 times a week

nearly every day

2 times a day

3 or more times a day

:09 rm .0-9 9‘!»

4. When your mother drank any kind of alcoholic beverage, what was the average
quantity she consumed; that is, how many drinks did she consume nearly every
time or more than half the times she drank? A standard drink is deﬁned as 4-02
glass of wine, a 12-oz beer or a 1.5-oz drink of distilled spirits. (Circle one.)

a. rarely drank

b. 1-2

c. 3-4

(1. 5-6
e. 7-8
f. 9-10
g. more than 10

Appendix B: Perceptions of Parent Conflict Scale

Instructions:

FAMILY SITUATION CHECKLIST

of your parents' (or parent's and stepparent's) current relationship.

INN.—

:13

l = never true
2 = occasionally true
3 = fairly true
4 = very true
My parents argue with each other in front of me.
My parents hold grudges for a long time when ﬁghting.

My parents ﬁght verbally with each other.

My mother tries to get me to side with her when she ﬁghts with my

father.
My parents ﬁght about money and possessions.

My parents are able to work out disagreements fairly quickly.

My father tries to get me to side with him when he ﬁghts with my
mother.
I enjoy being with my father.

My parents talk together about my future.

My mother says negative things about my father.

. My parents are able to discuss and work out their disagreements.
. My parents work together as parents.

. My father says negative things about my mother.

78

——_~—_

NNNNNNNNNNNNN

Use the scale shown below to answer each statement in terms

wwww

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Appendix C: Deidealization Scale from the Emotional Autonomy Scale

PR-Fathers

Instructions: For each item, circle the number that shows how well that item
describes how you generally feel according to the following scale:

 

1 2 strongly disagree
2 2 disagree

3 = agree

4 = strongly agree

1. My father and I agree on everything. I 2 3 4
2. Even when my father and I disagree, he is

always right 1 2 3 4
3. I try to have the same opinions as my father. 1 2 3 4
4. When I become a parent, I'm going to treat

my children exactly the same way that my

father has treated me. 1 2 3 4
5. My father hardly ever makes mistakes. I 2 3 4

PR-Mothers

Instructions: For each item, circle the number that shows how well that item
describes how you generally feel according to the following scale:

= strongly disagree
2 2 disagree
3 2 agree
4 = strongly agree

1. My mother and I agree on everything. I 2 3 4
2. Even when my mother and I disagree, she is

always right 1 2 3 4
3. I try to have the same opinions as my mother. 1 2 3 4
4. When I become a parent. I'm going to treat

my children exactly the same way that my

mother has treated me. 1 2 . 4
5. My mother hardly ever makes mistakes. I 2 3 4

79

Appendix D: Conﬂictual Independence Scale

Psychological Separation Inventory-CI

Instructions: The following statements describe different aspects of your

 

relationships with both your mother and father. Ilse the following scale to
tell how well each statement applies to you.

99°99‘MPPJN

5

55:63.3:

NNN—I—I—
--.o.~o.°°>l

l 2 3 4
Not at all true for me.

Sometimes my mother is a burden to me.

I feel like I am constantly at war with my mother.

I blame my mother for many of the problems I have.

I wish I could trust my mother more.

I have to be careful not to hurt my mother's feelings.

I sometimes feel like I'm being punished by my mother.
I wish my mother wasn't so overprotective.

I wish my mother wouldn't try to manipulate me.

I wish my mother wouldn't try to make fun of me.

. I feel that I have obligations to my mother that I wish I didn't

have.

. My mother expects too much from me.

I wish I could stop lying to my mother.

. I often wish that my mother would treat me more like an adult.

I am often angry at my mother.
I hate it when my mother makes suggestions about what I do.

Even when my mother has a good idea I refuse to listen to it
because she made it.

I wish my mother wouldn't try to get me to take sides with her.

I argue with my mother over little things.
My mother is sometimes a source of embarrassment to me.

I am sometimes ashamed of my mother.

. I get angry when my mother criticizes me.

. When I don't write my mother often enough I feel guilty.

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. I feel uncomfortable keeping things from my mother.

I often have to make decisions for my mother.
I sometimes resent it when my mother tells me what to do.

Sometimes my father is a burden to me.

. I feel like I am constantly at war with my father.

. I blame my father for many of the problems I have.

I wish I could trust my father more.

. I have to be careful not to hurt my father's feelings.
. I sometimes feel like I'm being punished by my father.
. I wish my father wasn't so overprotective.

. I wish my father wouldn't try to manipulate me.

I wish my father wouldn't try to make fun of me.

. I feel that I have obligations to my father that I wish I didn't

have.

. My father expects too much from me.

I wish I could stop lying to my father.
I often wish that my father would treat me more like an adult.
I am often angry at my father.

I hate it when my father makes suggestions about what I do.

. Even when my father has a good idea I refuse to listen to it

because he made it.

. I wish my father wouldn't try to get me to take sides with him.

. I argue with my father over little things.

My father is sometimes a source of embarrassment to me.

. I am sometimes ashamed of my father.

I get angry when my father criticizes me.

. When I don't write my father often enough I feel guilty.
. I feel uncomfortable keeping things from my father.

. I often have to make decisions for my father.

I sometimes resent it when my father tells me what to do.

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Appendix F.: Hazan's and Shaver's Adult Attachment Questionnaire

ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP QUESTIONNAIRE

This questionnaire is concerned with your experience in romantic love
relationships. Take a moment to think about these experiences and answer
the following questions with them in mind. Read each of the three self-
descriptions below (A. B. and C) and then pick the single alternative that
mg; describes how you feel in romantic relationships or is nearest to the way
you are. (Note: The terms "close" and "intimate" refer to psychological or
emotional closeness, not necessarily to sexual intimacy.)

A. I am somewhat uncomfortable being close to others: I find it
difficult to trust them completely, difﬁcult to allow myself to
depend on them. I am nervous when anyone gets too close, and
often, love partners want me to be more intimate than I feel
comfortable being.

B. I find that others are reluctant to get as close as I would like. I
often worry that my partner doesn't really love me or won't want
to stay with me. I want to get very close to my partner, and this
sometimes scares people away.

C. I find it relatively easy to get close to others and am
comfortable depending on them. I don't often worry about
being abandoned or about someone getting too close to me.

Now please rate each of the relationship styles above according to the extent
to which you think each description corresponds to your general relationship
style.

Not at all Somewhat Very much

like me like me like me
Style A. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Style B. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Style C. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Appendix F: Bartholomew's Adult Attachment Questionnaire
CLOSE RELATIONSHIP QUESTIONNAIRE

This questionnaire applies to all emotionally close relationships, not
just romantic ones. Following are descriptions of four general relationship
styles that people often report. Pick the single alternative that my describes
you or is closest to the way you are.

_A. It is relatively easy for me to become emotionally close to others. I
am comfortable depending on others and having others depend on
me. I don't worry about being alone or having others not accept me.

B. I am somewhat uncomfortable getting close to others. I want
emotionally close relationships, but I ﬁnd it difﬁcult to trust others
completely, or to depend on them. I sometimes worry that I will be
hurt if I allow myself to become too close to others.

C. I want to be completely emotionally intimate with others, but I often
find that others are reluctant to get as close as I would like. I am
uncomfortable being without close relationships, but I sometimes
worry that others don't value me as much as I value them.

D. I am comfortable without close emotional relationships. It is very
important to me to feel independent and self-sufﬁcient, and I prefer
not to depend on others or have other depend on me.

Now please rate each of the relationship styles above according to the extent
to which each description corresponds to your general relationship style.

Not at all Somewhat Very much

like me like me like me
Style A. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Style B. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Style C. l 2 3 4 5 6 7
Style D. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

83

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