Alcoholism is a disease of denial, that is, those suffering from it often refuse to admit they are affected by it. Alcoholics with a long history of family alcoholism have more sever symptoms and more social problems, versus those families without a history of family alcoholism. Parents in such a situation tend to insist to their children that their alcoholic symptoms are neither serious nor permanent in nature. .
Many alcoholics authentically believe that their alcoholism is hidden. This is further complicated by the fact that problem drinking is in part a function of the definition of oneself as deficient and the concept of alcohol as useful for altering the definition of oneself. Consequently, the children of alcoholic parents are confronted with various dilemmas. First, the child sees his parents drinking in excess, while simultaneously denying the fact. Second, the child further observes the personality of his parents significantly alter after the alcohol has taken effect, confusing the child to greater extent. In order to cope with the family situation, the child of an alcoholic parent generally learns to go along with the "conspiracy" of denial and silence. Although, generally the pattern of secrecy which permits this to occur ultimately has affect on the child's future life.
Unfortunately, the impact on children from families with an alcoholic parent is both enduring and direct. For instance, these children tend to drop out of school voluntarily in large numbers than any other group of children . This has been especially the situation with affected male children of alcoholic parents. It has been reported that family history positive men with alcoholism have had significantly more suspensions from school, poorer academic and social performance in school, and more pre-military antisocial behavior. As previously stated, these children, also have a greater incidence of problems with alcohol and substance abuse themselves, in later life.