The role reversal in the families of Adult Children of Alcoholics

Aim. The authors present results of research in which they have tried to answer the question of the specificity of parentification process of Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACoA) in comparison to healthy individuals. Method. One hundred twenty people took part in the study: sixty Adult Children of Alcoholics (research group) and sixty adults, who were not raised in families with the problem of alcoholism (control group). The following methods were applied in the study: Children of Alcoholics Screening Test (CAST) developed by John Jones and Joanne Pilat, Filial Responsibility Scale for Adult (FRS – A) created by Gregory Jurkovic and Alison Thirkield. results. The results have shown that Adult Children of Alcoholics experience parentification in the past (instrumental, emotional and sense of unfairness), and in the present (emotional and sense of unfairness) more often than individuals who are not Adult Children of Alcoholics. Conclusions. The analysis of the results of the study can serve as valuable clues for the therapeutic work with Adult Children of Alcoholics opening a whole new area of thinking about effective forms of help for this clinical group.