Introduction
If one member of a family has an addiction, his/her lifestyle, outcomes of a substance use disorder, etc. influence the whole family. Children of parents who have some addiction can suffer the more because of their parents` addiction. A child personality, identity, self-conception, self-esteem are in the process of intensive development. That is why children of addictive parents can be the most vulnerable to negative influences of their parents` substance use disorder (Lander, Howsare & Byrne, 2013).
Representatives of family approaches point out that it is not enough to treat only a person who has an addiction. Professionals must provide therapy for every family members of a person with addiction. This approach proves how strong addiction influence not only a life of a man with addiction but lives of children, spouse of this person. In this paper, we will review evidence of how exactly family substance abuse disorders can influence the identity of young adults.
Psychosocial development in young adulthood
Young adulthood begins at the period of late adolescence (18 years) and continues approximately until the age of 20-22 years according to one point of view and until the age of 40 years according to such authors as Erikson, Craig, etc.
Many researchers turned to the study of the types of thinking in young adulthood. Klaus Riegel, for example, applied particular importance to the process of understanding the contradictions as a significant achievement in the cognitive development of young adults and suggested the presence of the fifth stage of cognitive development, which he called dialectical thinking. The adult individual considers and ponders, and then trying to integrate opposite or conflicting thoughts and observations. One particularly important aspect of dialectical thinking is the integration of the ideal and the reality. According to Riegel, this ability is the strength of adults thinking (Craig & Baucum, 2002, p. 583).
Another theorist Gisela Leybovi-Vif attached particular importance to "obligations and responsibilities" as the characteristic signs of adult cognitive maturity. She assumed that the course of cognitive development should include the development of logical thinking following the theory of Piaget, and the evolution of self-regulation, since childhood, and including most of the period of adulthood (Craig & Baucum, 2002, p. 584).
Erikson's theory includes a description of eight psychological stages (crisis); each of stages is based on the previous one. A development of a young adult depends on the success of solving main tasks of the prior periods: trust and autonomy, initiative and industry. In adolescence, the central problem to be solved is the definition of own identity. It can continue in the period of young adulthood. Young adults identify and reidentify themselves, their priorities and their place in the world.
The crisis of intimacy and isolation is the most common problem for the period of young adulthood. Intimacy involves establishing of mutually satisfying intimate relationships with other people. An intimate relationship is a union of two personalities, who save unique qualities of each of them. In contrast, isolation means the inability or failure to establish a reciprocal relationship, sometimes because personal identity is too weak, not ready to create a close relationship with another person (McAdams, 2001, p. 110).
The effect of family addiction on young adults` identity
Chase et al. discussed in their study such phenomenon as a parentification and investigated the long-term impact of parentification on an adult individual. Parentification is a characteristic feature of a family with addictions. The main characteristic of parentification is a confusion of child-parental roles. A parentified child provides care for own parents, younger siblings solve financial problems of the family and satisfies emotional needs of a family. A child in the parentified family plays the role of a parent or a spouse (Chase, Deming& Wells, 1998, p. 109)..
An example of parentification we can find in the movie Shattered Spirits. This film shows what happens to the family of the father who suffer from alcohol addiction. Kelsey, one of the main characters of the movie is a teen girl who behaves like a responsive adult parent. Instead of spending free time with peers, friends she washes, cleans, cooks, takes care of her younger brother and tries to please her mother and her father-alcoholic.
The main problem of parentification is that it destroys a child (teen, young adult) identity. Instead of searching the own place and goals in the world a child live a life of his/her parents, performs those functions which must be carried out by parents. In other words, a parentified child does not live his/her life. Parentified children tend to have difficulties in developing a separate and authentic sense of self in their adult relationships and work (Chase, Deming& Wells, 1998, p. 107)..
Results of many of researches prove that parentification is more shared and widespread phenomenon among families where one of the parents or both parents have an addiction. Fullinwider-Bush and Jacobvitz studied young female adults who had parentified relationships with their fathers. The study showed these girls did not have identity and commitment to any relationships or career goals as a result of parentification in their families. Also, results of researches demonstrated that children and young adults overinvolved in taking care for parents experience difficulties with separation and individuation (Chase, Deming& Wells, 1998, p. 111).
Chase et al. studied young adults (mean age approximately 21 years) and examined if there is some connection between parentification and academic performance. Also, researchers checked if parentification is more prevalent in children of alcoholics than for young adults of non-alcoholic parents. Authors of the study suggested that students who are or were overinvolved in taking care of households and family members will demonstrate lower academic grades than students who does not perform a parentified role in their families. This hypothesis was built on the assumption that parentification is a burden for development of personality in the adolescence and childhood periods; parentification is a burden because children who are busy with “adults`” activities do not have time and energy for self-development, for achieving success in school activities, etc. The hypothesis of researchers was proved by results of the study.
Chase et al. identified some limitations of their study. Researchers pointed out that their study was based on self-reports of young adults participated in the survey. It means that scores of the pattern of parentification among students can be only subjective perceptions by of their roles at home, but not a real parentification. So future studies demand including reports of ant interviews with students` parents to make the data more reliable. Besides that the current research did not allow to define the duration of parentification (if it lasts for several years, or if it begins several months ago, etc.).
However, despite some weakness of the study, researchers indicated that results of their study can be used for practical purposes. This study showed one more time that some individual problems of a child can be only the reflection of many other problems (connected, for example, with addictions of family members) of the whole family. Also, the research demonstrated that problems at home can be one of the main reasons for low academic achievements of a child, etc.
Conclusion
Young adulthood is a period of intensive personality development when a person identifies his/her main life, professional goals and creates a close relationship. It is also a time of separation from own family. However, young adults whose parents suffer from particular addictions can experience troubles in solving the primary developmental tasks. These difficulties may occur because of confused family roles and such phenomenon as parentification.
References
Chase, N. D., Deming, M. P., & Wells, M. C. (1998). Parentification, parental alcoholism, and academic status among young adults. American Journal Of Family Therapy, 26(2), 105-114.
Craig, G. J., & Baucum, D. (2002). Human development. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Prentice Hall.
Lander, L., Howsare, J., & Byrne, M. (2013). The impact of substance use disorders on families and children: from theory to practice. Social work in public health, 28(3-4), 194-205.
McAdams, D. P. (2001). The psychology of life stories. Review of General Psychology, 5(2), 100-118.
