Abstract
The relationship between a person with alcohol use disorder and their children can be rather troubled in terms of domestic violence, moral disqualification, insecurity, and financial difficulties, leading to multiple dilemmas. This qualitative psychoanalytic research aims to assess the affective-emotional senses arising from the experience of having lived with a father who misuses alcohol. For that, 12 adults underwent individual interviews initiated by an Interactive Narrative (IN) as investigative resource, which established a ludic-fictional field for emotional expression aiming to enable participants’ free associations. Through a plot constructed around a son expecting the arrival of a father with hazardous alcohol use, the participant is invited to conclude the IN. As registration procedure, the researcher elaborated transferential narratives describing each encounter and its respective affective tone. From an interpretive analysis, four fields of affective-emotional senses were identified in the narratives: “His Majesty: the Alcoholic!” which describes the place occupied by the father in the family; “Dad, who are you?” which alludes to the disorganizing experience triggered by environmental unpredictability; “Surviving is all I have left!” which describes defensive strategies adopted by interviewers; and “I wish to hold my story on my own hands!” which alludes to the rescue of an authentic and meaningful life. The harmful consequences of parental alcohol abuse for children’s mental health were discussed in the light of Winnicottian psychoanalysis, revealing a deep emotional distress that questions researchers about professional practices aimed at this population.
Keywords:
Alcoholism; Parent-Child Relations; Interactive Narrative; Psychoanalysis