Interpersonal Issues of Dependency in Adult Children from Dysfunctional Relationships
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Western Michigan University ScholarWorks at WMU Dissertations Graduate College 4-1992 Interpersonal Issues of Dependency in Adult Children from Dysfunctional Relationships Dennis Michael Beaufait Western Michigan University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/dissertations Part of the Counseling Commons Recommended Citation Beaufait, Dennis Michael, "Interpersonal Issues of Dependency in Adult Children from Dysfunctional Relationships" (1992). Dissertations. 1916. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/dissertations/1916 This Dissertation-Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate College at ScholarWorks at WMU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at WMU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INTERPERSONAL ISSUES OF DEPENDENCY IN ADULT CHILDREN FROM DYSFUNCTIONAL RELATIONSHIPS by Dennis Michael Beaufait A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of The Graduate College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education Department of Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, Michigan April 1992 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. INTERPERSONAL ISSUES OF DEPENDENCY IN ADULT CHILDREN FROM DYSFUNCTIONAL RELATIONSHIPS Dennis Michael Beaufait, Ed.D. Western Michigan University, 1992 This study was designed to examine issues of interpersonal behavior among adult children of alcoholics when compared to adult children of non-alcoholics by assessing the functioning level of family of origin relationships. Undergraduate students from a midwestern university were divided into four groups based on their scores on the Children of Alcoholics Screening Test (CAST) by Jones (1981) and the Index of Family Relations (IFR) by Hudson (1982). The sample consisted of 302 subjects between the ages of 18 and 50 who volunteered to participate in a study which examined interpersonal behavior as measured by the Interpersonal Dependency Inventory (IDI). Subjects' scores on each questionnaire were analyzed using a series of one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) in which groups were compared for mean differences in interpersonal behavior. Sixteen hypotheses were tested for significance in interpersonal differences as measured by the IDI subscales of emotional reliance on others, lack of self-confidence, assertion of autonomy, and dependency. Analyses indicated that adult children from dysfunctioning family relationships and adult children from non-dysfunctional family relationships in non-alcoholic homes had significant differences at the .05 level of confidence. No significant differences were found between adult children of alcoholics and adult children of non-alcoholics who came from dysfunctional family relationships. Also, no significant differences were found between adult children of alcoholics and adult children of non-alcoholics Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. who came from non-dysfunctional family relationships. These findings suggest that differences in adult interpersonal behavior are a function of family of origin relationships rather than from family alcoholism. It was suggested that adult children of alcoholics are more similiar to a normal population than they are dissimiliar depending on the family of origin relationships. Further research is suggested to examine the quality of early family relationships that occur for adult children of alcoholics and adult children of non-alcoholics when exploring differences in interpersonal behavior. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon tine quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send U M I a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. 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Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Order Number 9222440 Interpersonal issues of dependency in adult children from dysfunctional relationships Beaufait, Dennis Michael, Ed.D. Western Michigan University, 1992 Copyright ©1992 by Beaufait, Dennis Michael. All rights reserved. UMI 300 N. Zeeb Rd. Ann Arbor, MI 48106 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Copyright by Dennis Michael Beaufait 1992 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to dedicate this dissertation to my grandparents, Neal and Dorothy Lang, whose love and support made possible the man that I am today. I would also like to dedicate this work to my mother, Marjorie, whose special love and caring provided me with acceptance and encouragement throughout my doctoral training. My family taught me a great deal about interpersonal relationships which contributed to the development of this doctoral project. I wish to give a special thanks to Dr. Jim Lowe, committee member, whose guidance, support, kindness and friendship made it possible for me to complete this project and my doctoral training. I would like to express my sincere appreciation to Dr. John Geisler, committee chairperson, for his patience, understanding and professional expertise throughout this project. I wish to thank Dr. Robert Betz, committee member, for his support and guidance on this project and for his leadership during my graduate training. I would also like to offer a special thanks to Dr. Bob Brashear whose professional expertise in statistical analysis was instrumental to this research project. I would like to acknowledge Jerry Nowak for his much appreciated editorial suggestions and for his professional advice in the area of testing and measurement. I would like to extend my gratitude to Pam Stovall for her patience and energy in typing this manuscript. I would like to thank my friends both here and in Colorado for their support and belief in me throughout this project. Finally, I would like to give thanks to the Great Spirit whose love and wisdom has opened my heart to the gifts of being in relationship with another. Dennis Michael Beaufait ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.................................................................................... ii LIST OF TABLES............................................................................................... viii LIST OF FIGURES............................................................................................. x CHAPTER I. IN T R O D U C T IO N .................................................................................... 1 Background of the Problem ....................................................... 1 Statement of the Problem .......................................................... 5 Purpose of the Study ................................................................. 5 Research Questions ...................................................................... 6 Null Hypotheses........................................................................... 7 Definition of Terms .................................................................... 9 Limitations of the Study ............................................................ 11 Delimitations .................................................................................... 11 Overview of the Study ............................................................... 12 II. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE.................................................. 13 Characteristics of Adult Children of Alcoholics. ...................... 14 Clinical Observations ........................................................... 14 Current Empirical Findings ................................................ 16 Dysfunctional