Family Unpredictability, Parental Alcoholism, and the Development of Parentification

Abstract

The current study sought to examine whether parental alcoholism and family unpredictability contribute to the development of parentification, when children take on parental roles within the family. Participants (N = 123) from 10 outpatient clinics completed surveys that included the Retrospective Family Unpredictability Scale (Ross, 1999 Ross, L. T. 1999. Measuring family of origin unpredictability. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Southeastern Psychological Association. March1999, Savannah. [Google Scholar]), the Children of Alcoholics Screening Test (Jones, 1982 Jones, J. W. 1982. The children of alcoholics screening test., Chicago, IL: Camelot Unlimited. [Google Scholar]) and the Parentification Questionnaire (Sessions & Jurkovic, 1986 Sessions, M. and Jurkovic, G. 1986. The Parentification Questionnaire., Available from Gregory J. Jurkovic 30303Atlanta, , Georgia: Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, 1 University Plaza. [Google Scholar]). Two hierarchical regression analyses confirmed that family unpredictability and parental alcoholism each made independent contributions to childhood parentification. We discuss clinical implications and suggestions for future research.