Exploring Forgiveness Among Female Adult Children of Alcoholics of Higher Socioeconomic Status

Intergenerational trauma has perpetuated familial estrangement for decades within the adult children of alcoholics (ACOA) population. The purpose of this study was to understand forgiveness within maternal estrangement in female ACOAs to address a gap in literature on female ACOAs from a higher socioeconomic status. Bowen’s family systems theory (BFST) was the theoretical perspective used to understand the role of intergenerational systems, familial dynamics and patterns, and familial functioning that contribute to estrangement. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 9 participants and data analysis was conducted using the tenets of the Moustakas modified Van Kaam approach. Through the data analysis eight themes were discovered: benefits of estrangement, focus on healing, consequences of estrangement, mental health issues, non-death losses and grief, path toward forgiveness, impact of higher income, and effects of childhood trauma. The experience of maternal forgiveness among the participants varied from not at all to complete but did not impact participants’ ability to complete post-graduate education or obtain career achievements later in life. The findings in this study could be used by behavioral health clinicians to direct effective treatment with female ACOAs. Clinical insight is a factor in perpetuating positive social change for delivering clinical education to advance clinicians’ skills providing successful patient care.