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

Includes The Laundry List, other types of dysfunctional families. Out of necessity, you took on some of your parents’responsibilities. These may have been practical (like paying the bills) or emotional (like comforting your siblings when Mom and Dad fought).

You dont outgrow the effects of an alcoholic family when you leave home

But you’re also a highly compassionate and caring person. It’s natural adult children of alcoholics screening quiz to close off your heart as a form of self-protection. It’s hard to trust people (including yourself).

Being highly sensitive

• You are at risk for having the same problems as your parents.
• The CAST-6, a shortened version of the Children of Alcoholics Screening Test, is compared with a variety of these methods.
• This leads to controlling behaviors in your relationships.
• External messages that you’re bad, crazy, and unlovable become internalized.
• You never knew who would be there or what mood theyd be in when you came home from school.
• Methods of identifying adult children of alcoholics are described and their psychometric properties are reviewed.
• The effects of growing up in an alcoholic family are varied.

The effects of growing up in an alcoholic family are varied. Many ACOAs are very successful, hard-working, and goal-driven.Some struggle with alcohol or other addictions themselves. This can also happen with things like pills and other drugs. If you grew up with a parent who showed these signs, you are likely the child of an alcoholic. You may have challenges that you are not even aware of. You can live a happy, healthy life especially if you seek out help from a therapist.

People-pleasing

• These may have been practical (like paying the bills) or emotional (like comforting your siblings when Mom and Dad fought).
• Childhood fear and trauma left you in a hyper-vigilant state.
• There are many other lists of common ACOA traits available.
• You work hard, always trying to prove your worth and make others happy.
• This limits the amount of intimacy you can have with your partner and can leave you feeling disconnected.
• There may have been a lot of overt tension and conflict.

We welcome you to join us to see if this program is right for you. Find an  ACA meeting in your area or online to learn more. There are no membership dues or fees, and no requirements except a desire to recover from the effects of growing up in an alcoholic or otherwise dysfunctional family. You’re actually a highly sensitive person, but you’veshut down youremotions in order to cope. You’re sensitive to criticism, which fuels your people-pleasing.

Questions: Am I an ACA – bundle of 10 tri-folds

When there are things so awful that they can’t be talked about, you feel there is something awful about you and that you’ll be judged and cast away. When you feel unworthy, you cant love yourself and you cant let others love you either. Youhave a hard time with transitions and changes. A sudden change of plans or anything that feels out of your control can trigger your anxiety and/or anger.Youthrive on routine and predictability. If youre an adult child of an alcoholic, you feel different and disconnected. You sense thatsomething is wrong, but you don’t know what.

ACA Essentials – bundle of 10 tri-folds

As a child, seeing your parents drink so much (and how they acted afterward) may have been scary, confusing, or sad. You may often have thought you were the one who caused them to drink. If you grew up in a household that drank a lot, you may need to identify the signs of alcoholism, and how to fix it. Alcoholism, or “Substance Use Disorder”, can severely damage a person’s health and make them act in harmful ways. Living in the same household as an alcoholic is difficult.

It can be a relief torealize that some of yourstruggles are common to ACOAs. You are at risk for having the same problems as your parents. Maybe they haven’t developed yet, or maybe you are in denial. The best way to ensure the wellbeing of those you love is to seek help.

Growing up in an alcoholic home, you feel insecure and crave acceptance. The constant lying, manipulation, and harsh parenting makes it hard to trust people. It also leaves you highly sensitive to criticism and conflict. You work hard, always trying to prove your worth and make others happy.