Family Function and Children of Alcoholics Screening Test Score in High School Students

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Parent's alcohol drinking not only influences their health but also their children. This research was designed to assess the family function of children who were affected by parent's alcohol drinking. METHODS: Questionnaire survey was performed on 208 high school students (129 males and 79 females) in Daejeon from March to April, 2005. We defined the students whose CAST (Children of Alcoholics Screening Test) score was 6 or more as children of alcoholics (COA) group. Then, we evaluated the family function by family APGAR score between the COA group and the control group. RESULTS: Among the total, 36 (27.9%) male and 27 (34.1%) female students were in COA group. There was a significant (P<0.01) negative correlation between the CAST score and the family APGAR score in all students. In boys, there was no significant correlation between the CAST score and the family APGAR score, but in girls, there was significant negative correlation (P<0.01). Mean family APGAR score of the COA group was significantly (P<0.05) lower than that of the control group in all students. In boys, there was no significant difference, but in girls, the COA group's family APGAR score was significantly lower than the control group's score (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The high school students, especially girl students, who were affected by parent's alcohol drinking showed a lower family APGAR score. Therefore, family physicians need to evaluate the family function when encountering students similar to COA group.