The Signs

Thirteen characteristics of adult children of alcoholics Janet Geringer Woititz, widely acknowledged as the founder of the Adult Children of Alcoholics movement, lists 13 traits to look for.
These individuals:

• Can only guess what normal behavior is
• Have difficulty following a project from beginning to end
• Lie when it would be just as easy to tell the truth
• Judge themselves without mercy
• Have difficulty having fun
• Take themselves very seriously
• Have difficulty with intimate relationships
• Overreact to changes over which they have no control
• Constantly seek approval and affirmation
• Usually feel that they are different from other people
• Are either super responsible or super irresponsible—there's no middle ground
• Are extremely loyal, even in the face of evidence that the loyalty is undeserved
• Are impulsive. They tend to lock themselves into a course of action without giving serious consideration to alternative behaviors or possible consequences. This impulsively leads to confusion, self-loathing and loss of control over their environment. In addition, they spend an excessive amount of energy cleaning up the mess.