Self-concept, academic performance and behavioral evaluation of the children of alcoholic parents

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: It has been shown that being the child of an alcoholic is a risk factor for the development of alcoholism in adulthood. Due to the suffering caused by living with alcoholic parents, other vulnerabilities appear in such children. Among these are low self-esteem, poor academic performance and behavioral problems. This work aims to comparatively evaluate children of alcoholic parents and children of nonalcoholic parents. METHODS: The study design was quasi-experimental, involving two comparison groups. Two groups of 20 children were selected. The groups consisted of 10- to 12-year-old male and female children. One group comprised children of alcoholic parents, whereas the other comprised children of nonalcoholic parents. The self-concepts of these children were evaluated using the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale as well as the Academic Performance Test. Their mothers participated in the study by answering questions related to the behavior of their children on the Rutter A2 scale of Child Behavior. RESULTS: The results showed that the children of alcoholic parents tended to have more negative self-concepts and presented lower academic performance in reading and arithmetic than did children of nonalcoholic parents. Based on the responses given by the mothers, the children of alcoholic parents presented more behavioral problems than did those of nonalcoholic parents. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study confirm those of other studies and call attention to the need to be aware of the potential vulnerabilities of children of alcoholic parents and, especially, to try to minimize such vulnerabilities, thereby altering the course of psychological suffering that can mark their lives.

Prevalence of behavior problems and associated factors in preschool children from the city of Salvador, state of Bahia, Brazil

“…There is evidence that maternal mental health problems have a deleterious effect on child behavior, which may have significant repercussions on the acquisition of cognitive and social skills over both the short and long term. 3,[23][24][25][26]34 This finding is in line with other studies, which have demonstrated that maternal mental health is an important predictor of behavior problems in children. 7,16,21 The prevalence of behavior problems found in this study (23.5%) falls within the range reported in other investigations conducted in developing countries (12 to 29%).…”

“…22 Child mental health problems are fairly common and may influence development in different areas, such as cognition, socialization, and learning. [23][24][25][26] Numerous studies emphasize the severe long-term consequences of behavior problems as predictors of inadequate adjustment throughout the life course. These predictors cross into different domains, including delinquency, abuse of psychoactive substances, major depression, long-term unemployment, and difficulties in educating one's own children.…”

Psychological characteristics of adolescents from functional and dysfunctional families with fathers' alcoholism

“…Obstinacy, hyperactive behavior [33,37] , and a lower level of tolerance are bringing adolescents from alcoholic families to solve problems by excessive use of alcohol and drugs [38] . Problems in sustaining attention [39] , lack of interest in school, lack of respect for school rules [40] lead adolescents from families with untreated alcoholism to lower achievement in education, or to be less oriented to the future and planning to accomplish their life goals both in personal and professional. The obtained middle group average in the second dis-criminated function (0,457) of adolescents from families with untreated alcoholism leads to the conclusion that the adolescents of this sub-sample tend to: conflicts with peers [13,26] , truancy, running away from home [6,7,23] , suicide attempts [41] , depression and posttraumatic stress symptoms [42] .…”

Paauglių, augančių alkoholio vartojimo problemų turinčiose šeimose, vaidmens šeimoje ir akademinių pasiekimų sąsajos

“…Augdami alkoholio vartojimo problemų turinčiose šeimose, vaikai susiduria su daugybe veiksnių, darančių poveikį akademiniams jų pasiekimams. Nemažai tyrimų rodo, kad tėvų alkoholizmas susijęs su blogais vaikų akademiniais pasiekimais (Christoffersen, Soothill, 2003;Balsa, 2008;Leonard, Eiden, 2002;Marcus, 1986;Diaz ir kt., 2008), žemesniais skaitymo ir aritmetikos pasiekimais (Zanoti-Jeronymo, Carvalho, 2005). Ch.…”