Parental alcoholism: relationships to adult attachment in college women and men

Addict Behav. 2004 Nov;29(8):1633-6. doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2004.02.064.

Abstract

The present study of general and romantic adult attachment among 484 female and male college students compared those who resided with an alcohol-abusing parent prior to age 16 and those who did not. Participants completed the Relationship Style Questionnaire (RSQ; general adult attachment), Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised (ECR-R; romantic attachment), and the Children of Alcoholic Screening Test (CAST; perceived parental alcoholism). Results indicated that 23% of these young adults had lived with an alcohol-abusing parent, and relative to those who had not, they reported more anxiety and greater avoidance in romantic relationships and a more fearful style of general adult attachment. The implications of these findings in the context of the extant literature were discussed.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Alcoholism*
  • Anxiety / psychology
  • Child
  • Child of Impaired Parents / psychology*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Object Attachment*
  • Psychometrics