The topic I chose for the research assignment is children of alcoholics. I chose to focus more on the children that are involved in families of alcoholics rather than on the family as a whole, because I felt there would be too much information. Because I grew up in a stable, relatively normal family, I chose to research a topic in which I did not have experience with. The participants that I chose for the interview are people that I know to have problems with parental alcoholism. Both of the interviewees are mature enough to reflect upon their childhood experiences, and are also still dealing with them to a point. The male participant is a friend of my sister, and the female participant is my roommate. I will discuss the research that I have done on children of alcoholics and then I will discuss the interviews. Introduction The National Association for Children of Alcoholics reports that there are an estimated 11 million children of alcoholics under the age of eighteen in the !
             United States ("Children of Alcoholism: Important facts"). Additionally the association states that "almost one in every five adult Americans lived with an alcoholic while growing up" ("Children of Alcoholism: Important facts"). These statistics are horrifying. Living with an alcoholic is a very dangerous and emotionally stressful experience. Effects of growing up in an alcoholic family include Fetal Alcohol Syndrome for a baby that is exposed to alcoholism in the womb, hyperactivity, alexithymia, low self esteem, child abuse and many others. Teenagers who are children of alcoholics are emotionally neglected and might start drinking earlier than their peers. Adults who have survived living with an alcoholic family often have trouble functioning in relationships. In the 1970's, researchers and other professionals began to look deeply into the "impact of parental alcoholism on children" (Jacob and Seilhamer 168). This began to open America's ...