If you grew up in a home shaped by addiction, you most likely feel the impact as an adult, even if you’ve built a life for yourself that looks very different. The emotional patterns and coping strategies from childhood don’t just disappear with age. These formative experiences can show up in your relationships, your work life or your parenting approach—essentially, in how you see yourself. This category includes personality traits such as a tendency to experience negative affective states (e.g., depression and anxiety), a propensity for guilt and self-blame, and sensitivity to criticism. Cross-sectional studies of COA’s reveal mixed support Types of Alcoholics for differences on this personality dimension.

Children of alcoholic parents

A Norwegian twin study suggests that the trait “impulsivity” is a genetic risk factor, and “conduct disorder” resembles a combined genetic and development risk for suffering from AUD. The study also found that “conduct disorder” and “self-harming impulsivity” predicted alcohol use disorder more successfully than diagnoses of PDs 24. Neurobiological vulnerability factors such as alteration in this pathway or release of the neurotransmitter dopamine may cause difficulties with impulsivity and impulse control. This may play a crucial role in development and/or maintenance of substance use disorders. Other than natural rewards, the reward pathway is activated by novelty as well as by cues predicting their occurrence. This suggests that novelty itself acts as a motivating factor for individuals to explore an environment for potential rewards.

Fostering Self-Esteem and Support Networks

• Memories of neglect, the emotional unavailability of a parent, or the pain of witnessing a loved one consistently absent are not easily forgotten.
• Evidence from a recent meta-analysis reported that about 50% of alcohol use disorders are heritable 6.
• This theory postulates that SUDs are the primary disorder contributing to the development of pathological personality traits.
• In other words, the alcoholic’s comorbid psychopathology was critical in predicting the psychopathological outcomes in relatives.

These roles are explained to be coping mechanisms developed from underlying fear and insecurities and are typically carried on through adulthood. This theory postulates that SUDs are the primary disorder contributing to the development of pathological personality traits. Repeated trauma and direct effect of neurobiological changes due to continued substance use may cause personality deviations that appear related to the development of a PD. Personality on the other hand is described as the content of thought, coping styles, values and beliefs of an individual (the ‘what’). Personality emerges later in life and reflects patterns of behavior, emotions, and cognitions that are focused on aspects of self. Personality traits are influences by family, peers and context across development 11.

• They may also struggle with seeking approval from others and taking criticism, often responding with emotional manipulation.
• In conclusion, these vulnerability and protective factors can be useful in development of preventive strategies and interventions for children of alcoholic parents.
• These traits start as ways to cope but can create challenges later in life.
• Perceived victimhood is a psychological phenomenon where individuals view themselves as the victims of others’ actions, often feeling wronged or oppressed.
• Table 5 presents correlations between personality subtypes and Axis I and II comorbidity.

Study 1: Personality Subtypes in Adolescents with an Alcoholic Parent

• Several genetic factors have consistently been implicated in contributing to differences in personality traits.
• Temperament emerges early in life, and manifests in behaviors during the toddler and preschool period that are viewed as inborn or maturational.
• They can quickly revert to the scared, sad, angry, or hurt child they were years ago.
• The child inside is frightened, and in an effort to appear perfect, exercises strict self-control.
• Despite a common interest in COA’s, the literature based on clinicians’ experiences and the literature from the community of researchers have not overlapped to any great extent and have provided two distinct bodies of knowledge.
• Adult children of alcoholics (ACOAs) carry the impact of their upbringing well into their adult lives, affecting their mental, emotional, and social well-being.

Growing up in an invalidating environment often leaves ACoA feeling “not enough” or deeply flawed. Many ACoA experience a profound sense of isolation, even when surrounded by people. Living in an unpredictable household often leads to a desire for control as a way to feel safe. To ensure their own safety or to maintain a semblance of peace, they might suppress their true feelings, needs, or opinions.