Parentification, parental alcoholism, and academic status among young adults

This study examined 360 young adults in terms of their perceptions of having assumed a parentified role in their family of origin as a function of academic status and classification as children of alcoholics or nonalcoholics. Low academic status participants reported having experienced greater caretaking responsibilities and worries in their families than those admitted into a regular academic undergraduate program. Respondents who had an alcoholic parent scored higher on the parentification measure than those who were children of problem drinkers and children of nonalcoholics.