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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”.

Background. People with alcohol-addicted parents are at risk of psychoactive addictions, co-dependency, and suicidal behavior. Most studies of these people are aimed at confirming the inevitability of the impact of negative childhood experiences on their lives, and thus do not seek to identify resource factors which would allow them to overcome the negative emotions they experienced. Objective. The purpose of this study was to create a model of resource factors which would allow people with alcohol-addicted parents to overcome the negative emotions they experienced. Design. The participants were 58 healthy individuals (17 men and 41 women; M=25.2; SD=4.4) whose parents were alcohol addicts (they were participants in the 12-step recovery program "Adult Children of Alcoholics"), and 50 healthy individuals (15 men and 35 women, M=24.2; SD=3.7) whose parents were not alcohol addicts. The participants completed the questionnaires "Interpersonal Guilt," "Family Emotional Communication," and "Coping Strategies," and were interviewed on the resource factors which allowed them to overcome negative emotions. We used the content analysis of the interviews and latent variable modeling to analyze the questionnaires. Results. The model of resource factors (CFI=0.895, RMSEA=0.064) showed that the rules set by the parental dysfunctional family (the taboo on the expressing emotions, and external well-being) were associated with being unable to recognize current negative emotions and with avoiding problems. The ability to recognize negative emotions was connected with the participant’s willingness to accept responsibility for his/her life. The resource factors which allowed these subjects to overcome their negative emotions included: communication with relatives and friends; keeping a diary of emotions; and participating in recovery programs. Conclusion. Our model of resource factors explains the mechanism connecting dysfunctional family rules with the resource factors and negative emotions experienced by people with alcohol-addicted parents.

The relevance of this research is due to the wide prevalence of addictive behavior and the insufficient knowledge of the coping strategies of patients and their families. The purpose of this research was to investigate the resource factors and coping strategies of adults with alcohol-addicted parents and to make recommendations for psychological counseling for these people. The sample consisted of 52 subjects—who were participants in a twelve-step rehabilitation program for adult people whose parents had alcohol addictions—and 50 controls. We used guilt questionnaires (“The Guilt Inventory Questionnaire”, “The Interpersonal Guilt Questionnaire”), quantitative methods for evaluating the coping strategies used by participants (“coping strategies” (Lazarus, Folkman)), and a phenomenological analysis of the interviews with the participants. The results showed that adults with alcohol-addicted parents felt guilty in situations when they took care of somebody because their own parents did not model (and teach them) caretaking behavior. People whose parents were alcohol addicts tend to avoid accepting responsibility for their lives. The resource factors of people with alcohol-addicted parents included keeping a diary, participation in a rehabilitation program, and confidential communication with other people.