Attributional Style, Depressive Features, and Self-Esteem: Adult Children of Alcoholic and Nonalcoholic Parents

• NCJ Number: 155127
• Journal: Journal of Youth and Adolescence Volume: 24 Issue: 2 Dated: (April 1995) Pages: 177-185
• Author(s): S I Bush; M E Ballard; W Fremouw
• Date Published: 1995
• Length: 9 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Fifty-seven adult children of alcoholics (ACOA) were compared to 100 children of nonalcoholic parents (CONA) on measures of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), self-esteem, and attributional style.

Abstract

The participants were all undergraduate students at West Virginia University and were ages 18-24. The ACOAs included 41 females and 16 males, while the CONAs included 46 females and 54 males. One hundred fifty-seven participants were white, 6 were black, and 9 were Asian-Americans. Their status as an adult child of an alcoholic was determined using the Children of Alcholics Screening Test. Results revealed that ACOAs had signficiantly higher scores on the BDI and to have significantly lower self- esteem on the Index of Self-Esteem, than CONAs. ACOAs were also more likely to have a depressive attributional style in that they perceived failure as more internal, stable, and global than did CONAs. In addition, females had signficantly BDI scores than did males. Tables and 26 references (Author abstract modified)