Welcome to adult children ofalcoholics r dysfunctional families adult children of alcoholics aca dysfunctional families is a twelve step twelve tradition program of men and women who grew up in dysfunctional homes we meet to share our experience of growing up in an environment where abuse neglect and trauma infected us. Characteristics of adult children of alcoholics overview argument inconsistency unreliability and chaos tend to run rampant if you were never given the lasting effects many children of alcoholics develop similar characteristics and personality traits in her 1983 the laundry list . Understanding the struggles of adult children of alcoholics dangers of drinking parents statistical data according to the national organization on fetal alcohol syndrome every health issues connected with parental alcoholism women that suffer from alcoholism during pregnancy inadvertently . Adult children of alcoholics aca or acoa is a 12 step recovery program for adults who grew in in an alcoholic or otherwise dysfunctional family and share any number of unhealthy feelings and behaviors the same term is also used to refer to this group of people symptoms or personality characteristics of adult children of alcoholics