Personal and environmental factors in relation to adjustment of offspring of alcoholics

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to develop a causal model that explains how personal and family characteristics influence the well-being of adult children of alcoholics (ACOAs). The causal model was developed based on family systems theory, coping theory, social learning theory, and social support theory. Eighty-four ACOAs were tested in order to examine the fit of the model to the data by path analysis with LISREL VII. Results of the study suggested that the revised theoretical model presented good model fit to the data with .97 for goodness of fit index, .91 for adjusted goodness of fit index, .13 for rootmean-square residuals, and 11.94 for modification indices. Results of the study also showed that 1) ACOAs who are better able to perceive the availability of social supports tend to have lower emotional status; 2) ACOAs who are better able to perceive the availability of social supports have a tendency to have better adjustment; and 3) ACOAs who have higher emotional status have a tendency to be better adjusted in life.