YOUNG-ADULT CHILDREN OF ALCOHOLIC FATHERS - DEPRESSIVE EXPERIENCES, COPING STYLES, AND FAMILY SYSTEMS

College students with alcoholic fathers (adult children of alcoholics, ACA; n = 84) and with nonalcoholic parents (n = 123) were studied with regard to perceptions of their families, depressive experiences, and coping styles within a developmental model of depression that focuses on object representations (Blatt, 1974). Eight measures were used. Multivariate analyses of variance showed that ACAs differed in family perceptions (p < .0001), with paternal inconsistency discriminating most effectively between groups. As predicted, ACAs exhibited greater introjective depression (p < .01) but no increase in anaclitic depression. Also, ACAs relied more on aggressive defenses (p < .01). Findings demonstrate that young adult children of alcoholic fathers manifest distinct, identifiable emotional characteristics and suggest that Blatt's model of depression may provide a useful theoretical context for understanding certain effects of paternal alcoholism.