Young adult children of alcoholic fathers: depressive experiences, coping styles, and family systems.

College students with alcoholic fathers (adult children of alcoholics, ACA; n = 84) and with nonalcoholic parents (n = 123) were studied with regard to perceptions of their families, depressive experiences, and coping styles within a developmental model of depression that focuses on object representations (Blatt, 1974). Eight measures were used. Multivariate analyses of variance showed that ACAs differed in family perceptions (p less than .0001), with paternal inconsistency discriminating most effectively between groups. As predicted, ACAs exhibited greater introjective depression (p less than .01) but no increase in anaclitic depression. Also, ACAs relied more on aggressive defenses (p less than .01). Findings demonstrate that young adult children of alcoholic fathers manifest distinct, identifiable emotional characteristics and suggest that Blatt's model of depression may provide a useful theoretical context for understanding certain effects of paternal alcoholism.