There is no definitive list of five personality types of children of alcoholics. However, children of Types of Alcoholics alcoholics (COAs) are a heterogeneous group, and several traits have been observed in many COAs, including impulsivity, disinhibited behaviour, and negative emotionality. Four personality subtypes that have been identified in adolescent and adult children of alcoholics are externalizing, inhibited, emotionally dysregulated, and high-functioning. Furthermore, the negative consequences of parental substance use disorders extend beyond the immediate family unit.
Find Help for Overcoming the Challenges of Being an ACoA
Somatic therapies—such as EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), breathwork, or body-focused techniques—help release trauma stored in your nervous system. This can reduce symptoms like chronic tension, hypervigilance, or emotional numbness. If you’ve relied on numbing behaviors, people-pleasing, or overachievement to survive, therapy can help you build new tools for self-regulation. Modalities such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) teach skills for managing anxiety, setting boundaries, and responding to triggers with intention rather than reactivity. Adult Children of Alcoholics often suppress emotions due to family dynamics where feelings were ignored, ridiculed, or unsafe to express.
Introducing the Acoa Discussion Questions Worksheet to Clients
Being in a home with alcoholic parents might have led you to feel as though you were on a constant roller coaster. Never knowing when you are going to face a parent’s poor mood or sudden change of behavior can leave you feeling a lack of control. Once you grow up, you may face a need to never let yourself feel that way again.
- Pathological lying, or pseudologia fantastica, is a more extreme form of lying characterized by the compulsion to tell falsehoods without clear benefit.
- Call and speak to a caring professional at Anabranch Recovery Center, located in Terre Haute, Indiana.
- What evidence is there to support the validity of the concept of codependency?
- Generational trauma is an important issue that deserves our attention and action.
- The Lost Child might struggle with assertiveness and self-promotion, while the Hero might become a workaholic, seeking validation through professional achievements.
Increased Risk of Substance Abuse Disorders
- Wegscheider (1981) proposed five personality styles in COAs based on clinical experience (i.e., The Enabler, Hero, Scapegoat, Lost Child, and Mascot).
- A recent meta-analysis states that the average effect of genetic contributions to individual differences in personality is about 40% 12.
- Combined with overreactive tendencies, this can be upsetting to people close to them.
- In the United States, the overall lifetime prevalence of alcohol use disorder is around 8% in adolescents and 29% in adults.
As reported according to The National Survey of Drug Use and Health in 2019, the prevalence of alcohol use disorder was about 1.7% among adolescents aged 12–17 years, while increasing to 9.3% in those aged 18–25 years 5. Having difficulty with people in positions of power can stem from several sources. You might be afraid of facing harsh criticism like you did from your parents.
Isolation and relationship issues
Difficulty expressing and regulating emotions can affect your overall well-being and contribute to challenges in your personal relationships. Children largely rely on their parents for guidance learning how to identify, express, and regulate emotions. But a parent with AUD may not have been able to offer the support you needed here, perhaps in part because they experienced emotional dysregulation themselves.
Impulsive Behavior
The Recovery Village Palmer Lake specializes in compassionate, evidence-based care tailored to your needs. Whether you’re seeking help for yourself or a loved one, we’re here to guide you every step of the way. Support groups and professional help can provide the tools you need to develop healthier habits and build a more fulfilling life. These traits start as ways to cope but can create challenges later in life.
This personality dimension also explained as positive emotionality or affectivity, encompasses traits like sociability, flexibility and gregariousness. This characteristic has not differentiated COAs from non-COAs in research studies. It is understood that sociability may be a positive feature in high functioning and resilient children or it may also be a trait in those with disinhibited behavior 37. In individuals with AUD, Cluster B personality disorders were more prevalent as compared to Cluster A and C.
