TPC-Journal-V2-Issue1

The Professional Counselor \Volume 2, Issue 1 45 was associated with alcohol misuse . . . and [shows] why all children from alcoholic homes do not have problems with alcohol themselves” (p. 630). These researchers point out that the significance of unpredictability, which they found in homes of adult children of divorce, adult children of economic adversity, and among ACoAs is the factor linking these adult children, which cannot be over-emphasized (Ross & Hill, 2001). Basing their premise on Bowlby’s (1969) theory of attachment and loss, Ross and McDuff (2008) contend that unpredictability is a derivative of insecure attachment between caregivers and their children. Attachment describes the bond children form with their caregivers. Attachments range in a continuum from secure to insecure (avoidant) depending on the caregiver’s availability and willingness to meet children’s needs (Bowlby, 1969). Insecure attachments are damaging to children because they tend to send implicit and explicit messages that they are not important enough to receive care (Bowlby, 1969). This mindset is unconsciously carried into adulthood, becoming the underpinning of the ACoA syndrome (Kritsberg, 1985). In an effort to support their argument on unpredictability, Ross and McDuff (2008) administered both Ross and Hill’s (2001) Family Unpredictability Scale (FUS) and Ross and McDuff’s (2008) Retrospective Family Unpredictability Scale (Retro-FUS) to the participants in their study. Retro-FUS is specifically designed for ACoAs, and both FUS and Retro-FUS evaluate the degree of inconsistencies in discipline, nurturance, meals, and general family dysfunction. As a corollary, Hodgins, Maticka-Tyndale, El-Guebaly, and West’s (1993) Children of Alcoholics Screening Test (CAST) also was used to specifically distinguish ACoAs from non-ACoAs in the study. It is worth mentioning that the CAST has received support among the academic community for its accuracy in measuring specific family dynamics in the alcoholic home (Lease & Yanico, 1995). Ross and McDuff (2008) conclude that growing up in an unpredictable environment is an important factor placing the ACoAs at higher risk for abusing alcohol compared with non-ACoAs. Addiction Models Among some clinicians the genetic model has gained clamor because of the frequency of alcoholism observed in certain families (Wang et al., 2011). To identify the contributing gene or genes to alcohol dependence, Wang et al. (2011) conducted a study of a small sample of Australian twins and concluded there is no gene or group of genes responsible for the main effect of alcohol dependence, but rather the possibility that an individual with a certain genotype such as monamine oxidase A (MAOA) may have an increased risk for alcohol dependence. However, this increased risk would most likely only occur when those “subjects are exposed to environmental stressors” (Wang et al., 2011, p.1295). Examples of environmental factors may include the individual’s personality, coping strategies, or family system. These researchers conclude by stating that it is unclear how the genetic influence may or may not interfere in alcohol dependence and to what degree. Also interested in exploring the genetic influence in alcohol abuse, Clarke et al. (2010) analyzed twin studies while conducting their own study. These researchers argue that stress activates certain responses in the brain, such as the locus coeruleus (LC), a structure located in one of the ventricles and sensitive to the activation (by a gene) to produce cortisol during times of stress. Clarke et al.’s argument is based on the notion that this dynamic between the stress and the production of cortisol may drive an individual to alcohol abuse to decrease the activity in LC, supposedly bringing a sense of calm during stressful situations. In other words, the gene activating the LC may be responsible for mediating the effect of alcohol which has been detected in twin studies. As expected, the genetic model has its critics because they argue it has not yet established a definite or persuasive relationship between genes and alcoholism (Dodes, 2002). In his 1986 article, Peele unveils his concern for the popularity of the genetic model to explain the etiology of alcohol abuse. Peele (1986) argues the data obtained to form the basis of the genetic model for alcoholism do not take into account important variables. These variables may include the unique differences among alcoholics as well as within ACoAs; how the alcohol abuse may unfold in many individuals and how any of these variables may be affected by a family environment that may or may not include a history of alcoholism (Peele, 1986). Peele (1986) insists there is no evidence that ACoAs inherit a “genetic liability for alcoholism” (p. 63). Peele explains the phenomenon observed in twins from biological alcoholic parents only shows a correlation between having alcoholic