ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses how a family changes over time. Families are not static entities. Not only do the individuals in them follow normative developmental patterns (i.e., Erik Erikson’s stages of individual development), but the family as a whole does as well. The chapter starts by exploring the typical stages a family goes through and then will narrow in on the individuals in the family by first talking about children growing up in alcoholic families and then exploring adult children of alcoholics. The chapter ends by focusing on the concept of resiliency and how children growing up in addicted families might gain and utilize strengths and resources to help them through the chaos.
