Childhood Domestic Violence, Alcoholic Parents, and Adult Psychological Features

Lee, Hyunhwa

Abstract

PURPOSE
In this study relationships of different types of domestic violence experiences and parental alcoholism in childhood with adult mental and family health were explored. Adult mental health outcomes included resilience, sense of belonging, life satisfaction, and depression.
METHODS
Data for this secondary analysis were from a cross-sectional study employing a web-based survey of 206 Koreans, including 30 adult children of alcoholics (ACOAs). A two-step cluster analysis was performed with seven domestic violence experience items as determinants of cluster membership.
RESULTS
In the ACOA cohort, four clusters were identified by childhood domestic violence experience-Low Violence, Witness, Emotional Violence, and Multiple Violence. Only two clusters were found among non-ACOAs-None versus Multiple Violence. All adult mental health and family health characteristics were significantly different between these six empirically-derived clusters. The ACOAs in the Emotional Violence group showed the lowest resilience and sense of belonging, and highest depression scores, which were significantly different from each corresponding score of the ACOAs in the Witness group. ACOAs who experienced multiple violence showed lowest level of family health among the six clusters.
CONCLUSION
The findings indicate that ACOAs and non-ACOAs may have very different patterns of childhood domestic violence, which are associated with distinct psychological entities in adulthood.