The Anxiety and Depression rates in children of alcoholics

By

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would take this opportunity to thank my research supervisor, family and friends for their support and guidance without which this research would not have been possible.

DECLARATION

I, [type your full first names and surname here], declare that the contents of this dissertation/thesis represent my own unaided work, and that the dissertation/thesis has not previously been submitted for academic examination towards any qualification. Furthermore, it represents my own opinions and not necessarily those of the University.

Signed __________________ Date _________________

ABSTRACT

In researching pathology of Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACOA's), I began to wonder if the chance of ACOA's having a mental illness, depression and anxiety in particular, was more prevalent than that of persons that grew up in a nonalcoholic home. The alcoholic home is a different environment all its own. The levels of dysfunction are determined by many different aspects of the alcoholic. The levels are determined by which parent is the alcoholic, or if both parents drink, the birth orders of the child, the gender of the child and the coping mechanisms that the child develops to survive the home. The coping skills to survive the home are the key to survival and I believe they are the key to the future mental illness that the child could develop. At an early age the child is aware that their home is different than that of their friends. They might not be able to explain the difference of the dysfunction is already evident to the child. It could be that mom acts different that other moms, the house is never clean or there isn't enough food in the house to invite friends over. I could also mean that the child takes care of the mom instead of the mom taking care of the child. The child is responsible for the cooking, cleaning, making sure the parent gets up for work or making sure the bills get paid. I want to know, through research if the coping skills that the child develops make them more susceptible to suffering from depression and/or anxiety in adulthood.

Contents

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTii

DECLARATIONiii

ABSTRACTiv

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION1

Background1

Significance1

Rationale1

Target audience1

Limitations2

Research questions2

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW3

Alcoholism3

Alcoholism a family disease3

Alcoholic parents Affects on children3

Depression and anxiety4

Problem of depression4

Addiction Psychic5

Chapter 3: Methodology8

Search Technique10

Literature Search10

Inclusion and exclusion criteria11

Search terms - key terms12

Additional Online searches12

Management12

Search rationale12

Critical Appraisal tool13

Appraisal limitations13

Reliability and validity13

Ethical consideration15

Generalizability16

References17

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Background

The trend in society shows that children from broken family often suffer a lot. If the parents are alcoholic it affects the personality a lot. These children become victim of anxiety and depression when they reach adult hood. Anxiety and depression are one of the most common problems in today's world. Every second person suffers from depression and anxiety.

Significance

This research is very important in all aspects. One of the most common illness is depression and anxiety in todays world. The research done in this context is very limited. Through this research the researcher will fill the gaps existing in the research. For the purpose of this research children behavior will be studied ...