Lutsenko, A.M.

Background. The term “family pain” is used in family system psychotherapy to refer to the emotional state of members in a dysfunctional family. Despite the widespread use of this term in practical psychology, the structure of the phenomenon of “family pain” has not yet been described and introduced into clinical and family psychology. This study provides a scientific substantiation of the psychological construct “family pain” in the etiology and functioning of codependent behaviour based on the cultural-historical approach of L.S. Vygotsky.

Objectives. The aim is to characterize the concept of experiencing “family pain” based on a cultural-historical approach, and also to analyse the characteristics of experiencing “family pain” among people whose parents were alcoholics.

Study Participants. The sample included adults who were conditionally mentally healthy (N=52; 11 men and 41 women; Mage=24.5 years, SD=4.4), who grew up in alcoholic families and regularly attended the 12-step rehabilitation programme “Adult Children of Alcoholics”.

Methods. A phenomenological analysis of the motives for people applying to the 12-step rehabilitation programme “Adult children of alcoholics”.

Results. Individuals who grew up in alcoholic families describe “family pain” as a constant experience that accompanies them throughout their lives, due to traumatic childhood experiences in the past. Six motives for applying to the self-help rehabilitation programme “Adult Children of Alcoholics” for people who grew up in alcoholic families and experienced “family pain” were identified. They included: to overcome difficulties in communication, to cope with the death of parents, to find support and approval, to find people with similar experiences, to justify one’s own failures through the illness of a parent, to cope with current negative states connected to childhood experiences. It has been shown that attending rehabilitation programmes can both help a person to cope with the experience of “family pain” and strengthen fixation on the negative experiences of childhood.

Conclusions. The process of experiencing a common family problem by people whose parents were alcoholics can be presented and described as a special systemic psychological construct “family pain”.

Relevance. The term “family pain” is used in family psychotherapy to refer to the emotional state of dysfunctional family members. Research on this phenomenon in dysfunctional alcoholic families can expand the understanding of the family system and allow us to formulate the goals of psychotherapy with such families.

Objective. To investigate the “family pain” experienced by adult children of alcoholics.

Methods. The sample consisted of 52 people who were in a recovery program for adult children of alcoholics (ACA), and 50 controls. We implemented a phenomenological analysis of ACA groups, a content analysis of images of “family pain”, and factor analysis of the characteristics of “family pain”.

Results. The study showed significant differences between the images of “family pain” experienced by adults who were raised and still live in alcoholic families, by those whose parents were alcoholics and had died by the time of the survey, and by those whose parents were not alcoholics. People who live with their alcoholic parents describe “family pain” as a familiar, long process with effects on the whole family. The experience of “family pain” includes anger, shame, and self-pity. People whose parents were alcoholics and have died describe “family pain” as a feeling of guilt towards their parents and a process of experiencing their parents’ death. The control group had difficulty describing “family pain”, or described it as a process of experiencing their parents’ death.

Conclusions. Representations of “family pain” are associated with the subjective meaning of family dysfunction for the participant and the experience of negative emotions in the family.

Relevance. The question of the role of the feelings of guilt in the rehabilitation process of people whose parents were alcohol addicts remains controversial. In cognitive behavioral therapy, the feeling of guilt is associated with taking the responsibility. In the humanistic approach, the feelings of guilt and shame are considered as emotions that hinder the acceptance of responsibility and the search for social support. The study of the experience of the feelings of guilt can help formulate the goals of rehabilitation and identify the resource factors of people whose parents were alcohol addicts.

Objective. The purpose of this study was to study the relationship between the responsibility and the feelings of guilt experienced by people whose parents were alcohol addicts.

Methods. Sample: 1) people whose parents were alcohol addicts (N = 52; M age = 24.5); 2) control group (N = 50; M age = 24.2). We used a phenomenological analysis of the statements of the participants in the twelve-step recovery program, “The Interpersonal Guilt Questionnaire” (O'Connor, Berry), “The Guilt Inventory Questionnaire” (Kugler, Jones), “Coping strategies” (Lazarus, Folkman), the content analysis of the family resource factors.

Results. People whose parents suffered from chronic alcoholism characterize the feelings of guilt as a familiar family process, as a result of increased responsibility for other people, as a result of taboo aggression towards their parents and as a result of experiencing a real or expected loss of their parents. An increased feeling of guilt is associated with avoiding finding a solution to a problem and is not associated with taking increased responsibility. Resource factors contributing to overcoming the feeling of guilt: keeping a diary, self-observation of negative emotions, communication with friends and healthy relatives, participation in rehabilitation programs. The participants in the control group are less inclined to experience the feelings of guilt and shame, and identify the confidential communication with family and friends, and sport as resource factors.

Conclusions. The feelings of guilt experienced by people whose parents were alcohol addicts is not associated with the acceptance of increased responsibility for their lives and does not contribute to the acceptance of the social support.