Young adult offspring of parents with drinking problems: Recollections of parents' drinking and its immediate effects

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Abstract
One hundred and seventy 16- to 35-year-old offspring of parents with drinking problems were recruited from a variety of clinical and community sources and each was interviewed at length using a semi-structured interview. The present paper focuses upon carefully reconstructed recollections of childhood, and presents quantitative information from the whole sample and three briefly described individual examples. Large variances on quantitative measures and very varied qualitative accounts of childhood were evident. The large majority described parental drinking problems which spanned their childhood and adolescent years without interruption and without treatment. Amongst the most frequently recalled effects on life at home were parental moodiness, unreliability, and a tendency to upset or fail to join in with family activities. Amongst negative childhood experiences recalled most frequently were worry and uncertainty, a feeling of family instability, the experience of being caught between the interests of two parents, and the adoption of certain adult roles. Those with mothers with drinking problems scored significantly higher on scale of negative childhood experiences and mothers with drinking problems were more likely to have drunk regularly at home. Those offspring from families of higher social status estimated their parental problems to have started slightly later in childhood. Qualitative analysis suggested that whether excessive parental drinking is perceived as alien to or integral with family life may have been a neglected variable.