NCJ Number
178150
Journal
Journal of Child & Adolescent Substance Abuse Volume: 8 Issue: 3 Dated: 1999 Pages: 55-71
Date Published
1999
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This study seeks to determine the relationship between parental alcoholism, self-esteem and depression among African-American adolescents.
Abstract
The study involved a sample of 649 African-American adolescents 12 to 19 years old. It used three instruments: the Children of Alcoholics Screening Test, the Hopkins Symptom Checklist Revised, and the New York (Rosenberg) Self Esteem Scale. Approximately one out of four adolescents was a child of alcoholics (COAs). COAs scored lower on self-esteem and displayed higher levels of depression than non-COAs; females in general scored lower on self esteem and had higher levels of depression than males. Depression was the strongest predictor of the status of COA. Being raised in a household with an alcoholic environment was among the most stressful conditions. It negatively affected children’s development and left them at risk for psychological disorders in childhood, adolescence and adulthood. The impact on African-American youngsters was especially significant, as blacks were three times more likely to be treated for alcoholism than whites. There is strong documentation of the genetic transmission of the disease. Tables, references