Critique on It Will Never Happen to Me – Children of Alcoholics

The complexities of the concepts Claudia Black discusses in the book “It Will Never Happen to Me – Children of Alcoholics” published in 1981through New York: Ballantine Books are expressed through negative actions and behaviors in households where alcohol and substance abuse and addiction is prevalent. While terms like alcoholic, addicted, and chemically dependent are not usually discussed or included as part of a dialogue in such households, its existence is frequently manifested in the presence of adolescents; thus, affecting their psychological development. Black develops her point of view on the grounds that in homes where alcohol is the core existence, other household members are automatically viewed as of secondary importance. While Black emphasizes that children of alcoholic parents are more likely to experience long-term negative psychological consequences for the sole reason of their childhood upbringing, I believe that the individual’s personal and intricate desires affect their long term results.

Claudia Black establishes herself as an authority in the subject of children and alcoholic parents. In addition to her master’s degree in social work, Black possesses a post-doctoral degree. Furthermore, Black is actively engaged in addiction and co-dependency while conducting seminars to professionals directly related to her field of study. By identifying specific issues experiences by children that were raised in alcoholic families utilizing narratives and profiles, Black establishes factual evidence that enforces the issues of shame, unreasonable role expectations, and physical abuse (Black, 1981, p. 78). Black’s personal and first-hand experience as a child of alcoholic parents can be viewed as a possible bias, as she evidentially demonstrates a stronger sense of understanding children, as opposed to having experienced the role of the alcoholic parent. Contrarily, her direct involvement is a testament to her understanding of such matters, such as shame and neglect.

I would not incorporate the information Black provides in the book “It Will Never Happen to Me – Children of Alcoholics” to my personal life, as I am not a child of alcoholic parents; however, I would not reject the information, as it is indeed relevant to countless of children with alcoholic parents, such as the patients in the human services, counseling, and psychology program at the college. Similarly to Black, I believing the idea that being a child of an alcoholic parent can truly create long term negative consequences as an adult, by exhibiting long-term chronic and hidden depression (Black, 1981, p. 79). Specifically, an individual’s adulthood might also be negatively affected as a result of such childhood. Contrarily to Black, I would be biased in that an adult is an alcoholic exclusively because their adolescent experience living in an alcoholic household. I believe there is a time in one’s life where the decision of following a childhood model of alcoholic parents or designing a positive, productive, and self-fulfilling future arises. For instance, a couple of friends, who are currently adults, were raised in a household with parents who have struggled with alcoholism. Often times my friends express the absence of nurture they failed to receive during their childhood development.

While my parents attend to the majority of the important events in my life, such as High School graduation and college orientation, their parents were usually oblivious to such important dates. These individuals successfully graduated High School and are attending college full time, in addition to their full time jobs. Overall, I do concur in that it might be more challenging for children of alcoholic parents to project a life plan contrary to the one previously learned, due to a deficiency in parental guidance, or that of a caregiver. I believe that Black’s expertise in addiction and co-dependency presents her as an authority in her field. More so, I believe that Black’s personal experience as a child of alcoholic parents is primary evidence in that being raised in an alcoholic household is not the sole determining factor of a productive, self-fulfilling, successful, and self-rewarding life.

Reference

Black, C. (1981). Children of Alcoholics: It will never happen to me! New York, NY: Ballantine Books.