TPC-Journal-V2-Issue1

44 The Professional Counselor \Volume 2, Issue 1 for the “sensation” or the feelings of euphoria sought by alcoholics (Heitzeg, Nigg, Yau, Zucker, & Zubieta, 2010, p. 287). Although there may be different models to explain the etiology of substance abuse and addiction, there is a consensus among scholars that alcoholics attempt to alter their moods, such as depression, anxiety, anger, and feelings of inadequacy, through alcohol consumption (Dodes, 2002). Consequences of alcohol abuse are not only evident in the United States, but also are seen in families around the world. European studies focusing on adolescents from Austria, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Russia, Turkey, and Denmark show that “one family member’s substance abuse is often influenced by substance-using behaviors of others in the family” (Grüber, Celan, Golik-Grüber, Agius, & Murphy, 2007, p. 27). While ethnicity does not seem to play a significant role in the propensity toward alcohol abuse, other variables have been found to have an impact (Braitman et al., 2009). For instance, either having two alcoholic parents or having “an alcoholic father” increases the odds of alcohol abuse in both their male and female offspring (Braitman et al., 2009, p. 71). Family History as a Variable A longitudinal study that followed participants from 12 years of age to 31 by Warner, White, and Johnson (2007) showed that a combination of both early experimentation with alcohol and a family history of alcoholism are predictors of a “problem-drinking trajectory” (p. 56). Warner et al. reached their arguments based on a number of analyses including the application of Rutgers Alcohol Problem Index (RAPI). The RAPI is a psychometric instrument used to discern how problematic alcohol consumption may be perceived by a population and has received support among scholars. Neal, Fromme, and Corbin (2006) found RAPI to have acceptable validity and reliability and “test-retest correlations between 89 and 92” (p. 402). Warner et al. concluded that age at drinking onset alone is not sufficient to predict a problematic drinking trajectory. Instead, Warner et al. predict those who start drinking at an early age (adolescence) who also have a family history of alcoholism (ACoAs) are at higher risk to abuse alcohol as adults than those who do not have an alcoholic family history (non-ACoAs). ACoAs vs. Non-ACoAs Intrigued by the presence of alcohol in the family as a probable variable in the offspring’s alcohol abuse, Jones et al. (2007) led a research study to investigate the differences in alcohol consumption between ACoAs and non-ACoAs. With that in mind, the researchers divided the participants in two groups: those who identified themselves as having grown up with a substance-abuse parent and those who did not. Jones et al. applied the Self-Administered, Stand-Alone Screening Instrument (SASSI-3) to the participants. The SASSI-3 is a questionnaire unrelated to substance abuse. The rationale for asking substance-unrelated questions is an attempt to bypass the tendency of denial often found among those abusing a substance. After analyzing the results, Jones et al. noted no difference in the consumption of alcohol between the ACoA and non-ACoA groups. Jones et al. concluded that the culprit in an alcoholic home may not be so much the substance per se, but “the chaos associated with the substance use that may lead to the ACoA traits” (p. 24). In other words, the chaos and unpredictability experienced in alcoholic families may explain the ACoA syndrome, and the high risk of alcohol abuse among ACoAs (Kritsberg, 1985; Woititz, 1984). Chaos and Unpredictability In concert with Jones et al.’s (2007) theory of unpredictability, Ross and Hill (2001) conducted a study where participants from different ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds were recruited from ongoing studies at the University of Michigan Alcohol Research Center. One group of adult children of alcoholics and one group of adults who had parents who drank moderately during social events were investigated. The researchers’ mission was to isolate unpredictability (lack of consistency) and chaos in the family as variables in developing alcohol abuse in adulthood. In agreement with Jones et al. (2007), Ross and Hill (2001) propose that “the chaotic nature” and the “unpredictability” in the home may be the precursors to alcohol abuse in adulthood (p. 610). Factors such as parental rejection or uninvolvement, abusive discipline and punishment, and systematic broken promises were the underpinnings measured in the unpredictability index (Ross & Hill, 2001). Ross and Hill (2001) argued that their study revealed “parental unpredictability, rather than parental alcoholism per se,