What are the issues in families with alcoholic parents?

• Alcoholic parents tend to have poor coping skills and turn to alcohol to cope with problems that they may have (e.g. marital, financial, illness, work stress).
• Teenagers who grow up with alcoholic parents usually have poor relationships within the family and may also have troubles outside the family.
• Teenagers with alcoholic parents are in danger of becoming alcoholic themselves.

What may happen to a teenager with alcoholic parents?

He may:

• Spend less quality time with family.
• Experience conflicts due to misunderstanding.
• Be involved in physical and verbal abuse.
• Suffer depression and / or anxiety and other emotional difficulties, e.g. anger outbursts.
• Encounter financial problems.
• Form poor social relationships.
• Abuse alcohol and drugs.
• Be confused of his role at home.
• Feel guilty of being at fault for parents’ alcoholism.
• Have feelings of anger at his parents.
• Suffer low self-esteem.
• Be helpless.
• Become irritable and have mood swings.

How should a teenager deal with alcoholic parents?

• Admit that it is a real problem.
• Be aware of how your parent’s problem affects you.
• Understand that your parent’s alcoholism is not your fault.
• Find support from friends, school counselors, teacher or anyone else you can trust and talk to.
• Finding support from others who does not make you a traitor against your parents, nor reduce your love for them.
• Find a safe environment.
• If you find your home situation too dangerous to be in, seek help from authorities such as the police or welfare department.

How can you avoid becoming an alcoholic yourself?

• Learn to face problems and to solve them without the use of alcohol.
• Improve communication skills so that problem solving with family and friends becomes easier.

(See Communication skills).