ChildAbuse& N&W, Vol. 13, pp. 153.155, 1989 0145~2134/89$3.00+.

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BRIEF COMMUNICATION

ABUSE AND NEGLECT OF CHILDREN BROUGHT UP

IN FAMILIES WITH AN ALCOHOLIC
FATHER IN BULGARIA

CHRISTOCHRISTOZOVAND SONIATOTEVA

Department of Psychiatry, Medical Academy, Sofia, Bulgaria

Adaptedfor English publication by Jane Gray, M.D., Kempe National Center,

1205 Oneida Street, Denver, CO 80220.

MARITAL AND PARENTAL RELATIONSHIPS are often impaired in families with an

alcoholic father. Parent-child interactions in alcoholic families can be emotionally rejecting
and/or cruel. These families are characterized by emotional and social instability as well as
by abuse and neglect of the children. Some researchers report a correlation between alcohol
misuse and child abuse/neglect, and state that the incidence of child maltreatment can serve
as an indicator of the prevalence of alcoholism within a given population [ l-31.
Personality characteristics of parents who are heavy drinkers and who also maltreat their
children include low frustration tolerance, low self-esteem, impulsivity, dependence, immatu-
rity, depression, role reversal, and an inability to understand their children’s needs. Even
though definitions of child abuse/neglect vary [4], the literature agrees that in addition to
physical injury, the child often carries emotional scars which affect socialization and develop-
ment [5].
This study was undertaken to investigate the correlation between aggressive behaviors of
alcoholic fathers and the appearance of neurotic disturbances and behavioral deviations in
their children. Two hundred and twenty children (220), ages 4-14, whose fathers were in
treatment for alcoholism comprised the study population. These children were matched by
age and sex with 110 comparison children whose parents were nonalcoholics and of similar
social status.
To study the effect of being raised by an alcoholic father, we developed a questionnaire
which evaluated the child’s mental status, his/her attitudes towards the alcoholic father
and the family situation. Additionally, we reviewed case histories of the alcoholic parent,

Presented at the First European Congress on Child Abuse and Neglect, Rhodes, Greece, April 1987.
Professor Christo Christozov is Head of the Department of Psychiatry, Medical Academy, Sofia I4/3 1, Bulgaria; and
Sonia Toteva is senior assistant.
Received for publication September I, 1987; final revision received June 6, 1988; accepted August 22, 1988.
153
154 Christo Christozov and Sonia Toteva

court documents, and rehabilitation records to document parental behavior, employment

history, and family finances. These children and their families were re-evaluated eight to
nine years later.
The majority (82.72%) of alcoholic fathers were aggressive (verbally threatening and physi-
cally violent) towards their families, while only 17.28% were attentive to them. The children
suffered prolonged stress from witnessing beatings and arguments between parents. Their im-
age of fathers, which many children picture as secure and protective, was instead aggressive
and threatening.
Of the alcoholic fathers, 50 (22.72%) were convicted in criminal court and sentenced to
prison, and 24% of their children had documented antisocial behaviors. We feel that the lack
of an appropriate father figure, his absence because of prison sentence, and the resulting social
stigma, all affected the formulation of the child’s view of life and the development of appropri-
ate social and moral values.
Study families were four times as likely as comparison families (45% vs. 10.7%) to exhibit
at least one stress situation related to the fathers’ alcohol abuse. The child’s fear of his/her
inebriated father and continual family arguments were the most frequently reported family
stresses. Night time fears were particularly characteristic, as the children were often awakened
by inebriated fathers, who then forced them out of the house, regardless of the weather. These
stressful situations may be an etiologic factor in the child’s development of neurotic behaviors
(i.e., enuresis, tics). Psychologic evaluation of the study children revealed that 55.45% of the
3- to 1O-year-old children displayed such disturbances.
The children were usually ambivalent towards the alcoholic parent, which caused signifi-
cant emotional conflict for them. Certain attitudes towards the alcoholic parent were identi-
fied from the initial conversation with the child and assessment of his/her emotional state.
We felt that these attitudes were indicative of the following psychologic factors influencing
the onset of neurotic behavior:
1. Social stigma and lack of respect. Children reported feelings of anxiety when their intoxi-
cated father came to meet them after school. Additionally, the children suffered from low
self-esteem because the family could not provide adequate clothing and school supplies
due to the family’s chronic financial difficulties. Lack of respect for an alcoholic parent
was closely related to the child’s perception of being socially stigmatized. Adolescent girls,
particularly, lacked respect for the alcoholic parent. This attitude was closely linked to
their perception of being socially stigmatized by the alcoholic father. More than one-fifth
(23.08%) ofthe study children who felt a social stigma and lacked parental respect exhibited
antisocial behaviors.
2. Emotional deprivation and aggressiveness. Boys often verbally threatened the alcoholic
father. These threats were most frequently precipitated when the alcoholic father was ag-
gressive to the mother. Expressions such as “He’ll think before hitting my mother once I
am old enough,” and “In the morning I’ll run and exercise in the garden to become strong
enough to deal with this monster,” were common. This behavior was most typical of 12-
to 14-year-old boys.
3. Emotional ambivalence and fear. Natural love and devotion towards the father deterio-
rated under the negative emotions provoked by the reality of the alcoholic father who
brought stress and fear instead of love and protection to the family. Feelings of ambivalence
and fear were present in 5 8.64% of the study children and were typical of 4- 10 year olds of
both sexes, but even older children dreamed of “the good father” who would look after
them. Ambivalence and fear of the intoxicated father were usually the basis of emotional
conflict in the child and an etiologic factor leading to neurotic behavior. Ambivalence
towards the alcoholic parent was present in more than half (5 1.94%) of children with neu-
rotic disorders.
 Alcoholic fathers 155

The psychological evaluation of children abused by alcoholic fathers revealed that they
often felt depressed, inferior, and lacked self-confidence. These feelings resulted in a perceived
need to compensate, but overcompensation led to behavioral deviations. Without adhering
to strict psychoanalytic interpretations, we think that an inferiority complex is one factor
generating neurotic disorders and antisocial behaviors in children of an alcoholic father. The
child feels the loss of the family’s social status and becomes easily influenced by undesirable
peers. In trying to gain these friends’ approval, the child is apt to misjudge his/her activities.
We think this lack of judgment occurs because of inadequate socialization and a lack of firm
social and moral values. Children with an alcoholic parent were twice as likely as comparison
children (11.92% vs. 5.84%) to overcompensate while trying to gain peer approval.
At the 8- to 9-year follow-up of children with alcoholic fathers, 60.97% demonstrated anti-
social behaviors, as compared with 39% at the initial evaluation. This increase was mostly due
to a greater use of alcohol and tobacco. Over 78% of the children with antisocial manifesta-
tions had been maltreated. The follow-up data also revealed that separation of the child from
the alcoholic parent prevented, to some extent, the child’s developing antisocial behaviors.
From this study we make four conclusions: ( 1) Stress in families with an alcoholic parent
places the children at risk for abuse and neglect; (2) the behavior of an alcoholic father pre-
vents his children from a positive identification with him and with society; (3) alcoholism in
the family leads to an increased incidence of neurotic disorders and antisocial behaviors in
the children; and (4) separation of the alcoholic father from the children appears to promote
a more favorable social adaptation of the children. Therefore, we recommend that alcoholic
fathers’ children who exhibit antisocial behaviors need to be identified early and treated ac-
tively in order to prevent the development of attitudes and behaviors destructive to themselves
and society.

REFERENCES

1. BEHLING, D. W. Alcohol abuse as encountered in 5 1 instance of reported child abuse. Clinical Pediatrics 18:
87-9 1( 1979).
2. BOLTON, F. G. Child maltreatment risk among adolescent mothers: A study of reported cases. American Journal
ofOrthopsychiatry 50:489-504 (1980).
3. ORME, T. C. and RIMMER, J. Alcoholism and child abuse: A review. Journalfor the Study ofAlcoholism 42:
273-287 (1981).
4. MAYER, J. and BLACK, R. Child care in families with alcohol-addicted parents. In: Currents in Alcoholism
(Vol. 4), F. Seixas (Ed), pp. 329-338. Grune & Stratton, New York (1978).
5. SPIEKER, G. Family violence and alcoholic abuse. Toxicomanies 13:31-42 (1980).