Adult Child

“The concept of Adult Child came from the Alateens who began the Hope for Adult Children of Alcoholics meeting. The original members of our fellowship, who were over eighteen years old, were adults; but as children they grew up in alcoholic homes. Adult Child also means that when confronted, we regress to a stage in our childhood.”

ACA History – an interview with Tony A., 1992

More than a decade has passed since our primary founder, Tony A., was interviewed on the topic of the fellowship that he helped create. For this book we will use Tony’s words as the foundation to define the adult child personality. An adult child is someone who responds to adult situations with self-doubt, self-blame, or a sense of being wrong or inferior – all learned from stages of childhood. Without help, we unknowingly operate with ineffective thoughts and judgments as adults. The regression can be subtle, but it is there sabotaging our decisions and relationships.

From the ACA Fellowship Text (the “Big Red Book”), p. vii