Divorce, alcoholism, fighting and abuse are all but a few of the situations that would lead one to believe they are living within an unstable home. When dealing with alcoholism problems in a home it is said that, “offspring of alcoholics are thought to be at risk for poor emotional regulation”, meaning that they cannot cope with emotions like a normal person (Chassin, 1999, pg.107). Not being able to handle one’s emotions can cause an individual to feel lost and alone. Therefore, they look for ways to get away from home, since home has become an uncomfortable place to be …show more content…
That is why those who live in a home where parents are constantly arguing and they pay little to no attention to their children tend to try to get away from home life as much as possible (Famularo, 1986, pg.484). In most cases because of the atmosphere of unstable homes children will start to develop, “depressive feelings: temper tantrums, disobedience, truancy, running away from home…self-destructive behavior”, all of the emotions that they are not getting at home they try to fulfill in acting out (Toolan, 1962, pg.405). These destructive acts are usually a cry for help from the victims of unstable home life. They are trying to cope with their feelings and while some cope by acting out in destructive ways, others cope by seeking out friend