Walden University ScholarWorks Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Collection 2019 Perception of Self-Worth in African-American Adult Female Children of Alcoholic Parents Tahira Lodge Walden University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations Part of the African American Studies Commons This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Collection at ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Walden University College of Social and Behavioral Sciences This is to certify that the doctoral dissertation by Tahira Lodge has been found to be complete and satisfactory in all respects, and that any and all revisions required by the review committee have been made. Review Committee Dr. Avon Hart-Johnson, Committee Chairperson, Human Services Faculty Dr. Kristin Ballard, Committee Member, Human Services Faculty Dr. Dorothy Scotten, University Reviewer, Human Services Faculty Chief Academic Officer Eric Riedel, Ph.D. Walden University 2019 Abstract Perception of Self-Worth in African-American Adult Female Children of Alcoholic Parents by Tahira Lodge MPhil, Walden University, 2019 MS, Fitchburg State College, 2002 BA, Syracuse University, 1997 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Human Services Walden University August 2019 Abstract Parental alcoholism is a major risk factor for their children’s future alcohol abuse and dependence during adulthood. Thus, the purpose of this descriptive phenomenological study was to understand African-American adult female children’s perceptions of self- worth, their lived experiences, and their quality of life as it relates to parental alcoholism. The research focus and questions were addressed by applying the conceptual framework of Bowen’s family systems and Covington’s self-worth theories. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data from 8 African-American adult female children of alcoholics. Subsequent data analysis and thematic coding were employed by using Colazzi’s 7-step method to ensure rigor. The key findings from this study revealed that although over half of the women in this sample experienced some form of abuse and exposure to familial discord and even violence, their self-worth was strengthened by resilience and through forgiveness of their parents and siblings. This study’s implications for positive social change include helping researchers and practitioners to better understand parental alcoholism and how it could shape the experiences of offspring, especially in the African-American female ethnic group. Future interventions could be shaped by these findings, and researchers may use these study results as a platform for future work in this literature domain. Perception of Self-Worth in African-American Adult Female Children of Alcoholic Parents by Tahira Lodge MPhil, Walden University, 2019 MS, Fitchburg State College, 2002 BA, Syracuse University, 1997 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Human Services Walden University August 2019 Dedication This dissertation is dedicated to two distinct groups of individuals in my family: my ancestors and the next generation of Lodges. To my ancestors, I feel as if I picked up the proverbial pen (laptop) to write and attain a level of scholarship that some of you didn’t have the opportunity to have. I also picked up this proverbial pen (laptop) to write to effect change and continue the legacy of greatness that has come before me. I am forever grateful to have come through this ancestral line. To the next generation of Lodges: I sacrificed time, energy, and sometimes family events to try to be an example of the greatness that we all have the potential to become. I believe in leading by example. I see the greatness in you. I believe in you. If you dedicate your energy and time to be the best person that you can be which includes honoring your family, having a commitment to education and being an agent of change you, too, can leave a legacy of greatness. You will be able to fulfill your potential, change how we are viewed as individuals of African descent, and contribute to the generational excellence of the Lodge legacy. Acknowledgments I wish to thank my current dissertation chair, Dr. Avon Marie Hart-Johnson, for your guidance and leadership. Thank you for advancing my knowledge and serving as a model for how to write academically and conduct myself as a scholar-practitioner. Your patience, wisdom, and dedication along this long journey are highly appreciated. I also wish to thank my first dissertation chair, Dr. Marlene Coach, for your commitment and candid feedback. I wish to thank my dissertation committee member, Dr. Kristen Ballard, for your expertise in qualitative research. I also thank my URR, Dr. Dorothy Scotten, for assisting in the dissertation process. I wish to thank other professionals who have inspired me along my academic journey. Their commitment to academic excellence and scholarship, as well as cultivating student success, has provided me with the tools to accomplish any goal. Thank you, Ms. McArdle, Sister Nora, Sister Murielle, Mr. Gallo, and Ms. H.P. I would like to thank Rachael Cartwright for assisting me with copy editing my dissertation. I would like to acknowledge other agents of change and the trailblazers that inspired me to strive and to follow in their footsteps: Lenny and Carol Alkins, Juan and Julia Cofield, Roscoe Morris, Sarah Flint, Karen Payne, and Ralph Brown. I would like to thank Dr. Teri Nelson and Paa Nabab Yaa-Nanan for their dedication on teaching Right Knowledge and leading us back to the Mysteries. I wish to thank Judith Adams and Annette Grant for many years of laughter and friendship. Thank you for your constant support and encouragement during this process. I cannot name every friend and co-worker who gave me words of encouragement, but I wish to thank you as well. I wish to give a special thank you to the participants for trusting me with your stories and lived experiences. Last, but not least, I would like to thank my family for their unwavering support. I am a proud member of the Lodge legacy. Thank you to my aunts: Karen Lodge-Staco, Pamela Lodge, Lisa Lodge-Stuckey, and Sherra Lodge-Kearse for your hugs, encouraging words, and for believing in me. Auntie Pam, I appreciate the times that you propped my feet up because they were swollen from sitting and writing for hours as well as when you made me something to eat because I was too busy writing to get up to make myself something. I also would like to thank all my uncles for their support, especially Michael W. Lodge, Sr., John R. Staco, and Robert J. Stuckey, II. When you referred to me as “the Dr. Lodge” (even before I had my degree) or said that I can “do it,” or were happy to brag that I’m going to be a doctor, you had no idea how much that kept me motivated. Thank you to my cousins for your support. I thank my siblings: Atiya, Sheena, Adam, and Yvette for being my inspiration. To the best mother in all of existence, Gwendolyn C. Lodge, thank you for instilling in me at an early age that I can do and be anything I want to as long as I put my mind to it. Thank you for the sacrifices that you made to provide me with a good education. Thank you for being an example of how to live honorably. To the best grandparents in all of existence, William W. Lodge and Rosalie Lodge, thank you for laying a firm foundation on which we continue to build our family. Thank you to the Supreme Ones, the Overseers of the Universe and beyond. I am . because you are. I love all of you. Table of Contents List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... vi Chapter 1: Introduction to the Study ....................................................................................1 Background ....................................................................................................................2 Problem Statement .........................................................................................................7 Purpose ...........................................................................................................................8 Research Question .........................................................................................................9 Conceptual Framework ..................................................................................................9 Nature of the Study ......................................................................................................10 Definitions of Terms ....................................................................................................10 Assumptions .................................................................................................................12 Scope and Delimitations ..............................................................................................13 Limitations ...................................................................................................................13 Significance..................................................................................................................14