RNs- Mostly first born? Alcoholic fathers?

[Hellllllo Nurse]

KristyBRN's thread on this topic is very interesting. She has heard that many RNs are first borns of alcoholic fathers. I thought we could use a quantitative poll on the subject.- *Please add any comment you wish, i.e. tell us if you are an only or first born.

Please choose the option that best describes you-

[prowlingMA]

Third born- alcoholic father ( why I rarely drink)

wonderful mother

wonderful step father

( of all kids step included I am 5th of 6)

[twotrees2]

1st born girl with etoh father - but mom was very ill and died young - she was so ill and depressed and anxous it added to the codependency i was in.

[llg, PhD, RN]

This topic as a thread will probably never yield unbiased results because of the self0-selection process of the participants. People who have a family history of alcoholism will be more likely to be interested in such a thread than people who have led lives untouched by alcoholism.

People with little experience with alcoholism will be less likely to click on the thread to read it in the first place. People with a history of alcoholism in their family will be more likely to read the thread and respond.

It would make a good topic for a real research study, however. Such a study would have to survey a large group of nurses who were randomly selected, not who were self-selected based on their interest in the topic.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Such a study would have to survey a large group of nurses who were randomly selected, not who were self-selected based on their interest in the topic.

You have a valid point.

[Hellllllo Nurse, BSN, RN]

This topic as a thread will probably never yield unbiased results because of the self0-selection process of the participants. People who have a family history of alcoholism will be more likely to be interested in such a thread than people who have led lives untouched by alcoholism.

People with little experience with alcoholism will be less likely to click on the thread to read it in the first place. People with a history of alcoholism in their family will be more likely to read the thread and respond.

It would make a good topic for a real research study, however. Such a study would have to survey a large group of nurses who were randomly selected, not who were self-selected based on their interest in the topic.

Well, by no means does anyone think this poll is scientific.

[Felixa]

As llg says, this poll (and most polls on here) are likely to have a self-selecting sample. However it's also interesting to note that of those people with alcoholic dads, their mums often suffer/ed from mental illnesses.

[Hoozdo, ADN]

Oh, yeah, that dark, dark horrible path. All alone with a madwoman, and as a child what can you do? :sofahider

In my teens, I took myself off to a psychiatrist, thinking everything must be my fault, like mom said, but confused, not feeling it really was.

M.D. spoke with my mom, then told me "You don't need to come back to see me. You're not crazy, but your mother is and the best advice I can give you is to get as far away from her, as fast as you can, and never look back."

Perhaps we need another category - ETOH dependent fathers, crazy mothers, and first born. :lol2: I am the third person that fits this category, but I voted ETOH father. I even went to a psychiatrist too as a teen who then told my parents "she is perfectly normal". :wink2:

[athena55, BSN, RN]

Hello Everyone:

First born (adopted) female. Both parents abused alcohol, in fact lots of members of extended family abused ETOH. My younger brother by four years and I do not abuse alcohol. He is also adopted. Now my two younger siblings, both biological siblings, abuse both alcohol and other substances. SO the two adoptive children do not use or abuse alcohol, but the two biologically-related siblings do. I am not sure if it is because of the effects we have lived through or because we do not have that specific genetic marker for alcohol abuse.

That would also make an interesting research project, don'cha think?

Respectfully,

athena

[metalmom]

The saying goes......90% of all nurses are codependent, the other 10% are in denial.

[miracle1986]

Hi Felixa.....good observation about mothers.....although I personally did not mention my mother's life-long hyperchondria and chronic mental depression ( on meds ) on my last thread......

I was seen by a psychiatrist......upon my family's constant pressure for me to be "evaluated"......and his opinion????????????? "Get as geographically far away from your family as possible....you are fine Robin". I

n fact, he offered me a job at his facility upon graduation !!!!!!!

[danissa, LPN, LVN]

:icon_sad: good thread. my dad is an alcoholic, he and my mother drank when we were young and i always felt responsible for my brother who is 4 yrs younger. my mum also had post-natal depression after he was born in 1973, was given Valium by the GP, and never got off it to this day. Now she doesn't drink at all, but has chronic debillitating illness, dad is trying to only have a few beers, but vodka is his drink of choice when he wants to block the world, and it makes him into a real Jeckyll & Hyde character--ruined our Christmas last year! He's trying to improve this year, so who knows, we may have ourselves a merry little christmas after all? interesting background into this, why do people who have had to nurture siblings and parents in their childhood feel the need to be in the health field? I have no great answer, I just know that being a midwife in the NNU is what I was born to do! that feeling in your childhood of having to look after your family who are abusing any substance or alcohol must play a part somewhere!

[MLMRN1120]

wow this thread caught my eye, and I'm fascinated. I am not yet an RN, won't graduate until next year so I didn't answer the poll, But I am the first born and a daughter of an alcoholic father. What is it I wonder that attracts people like me to nursing?

Great research topic!