ATTRIBUTIONAL STYLE, DEPRESSIVE FEATURES, AND SELF-ESTEEM - ADULT CHILDREN OF ALCOHOLIC AND NONALCOHOLIC PARENTS

Undergraduate adult children of alcoholics (ACOAs; N = 57) were compared to children of nonalcoholic parents (CONAs; N = 100) on measures of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), self-esteem, and attributional style. ACOA status was determined using the Children of Alcoholics Screening Test (Jones, 1981). ACOAs were found to have significantly higher scores on the BDI and to have significantly lower self-esteem, as measured by the Index of Self-Esteem, than CONAs. ACOAs were also more likely to have a depressive attributional style in that they perceived failure as more internal, stable, and global than CONAs. Further, females had significantly higher BDI scores than males.