Alcoholism and neglectful parenting are two psychological principles that are well exemplified in White Oleander. The main character, Astrid, experienced neglectful parenting as a child for about a year when her mother abandoned her babysitter’s house. Not only was her mother neglectful, but she also made poor decisions that caused her to be sent to jail when Astrid was a teenager. Unfortunately, Astrid was sent from one foster home to the next. With her first foster family, Astrid experienced the effects of alcoholism from her alcoholic mother-in-law.
Alcoholism is defined as “a disorder that involves long-term, repeated, uncontrolled, compulsive, and excessive use of alcoholic beverages and that impairs the drinker’s health and social relationships” (King). According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, alcoholism is characterized with symptoms including neglect of other non-alcoholic activities, excessive drinking, impaired control of alcohol intake, persistence of use, large amount of time spent with alcohol related activities, alcohol withdrawal, and increasing amounts of tolerance (Jellinek).

Researchers have found that alcoholism can be a cause of family traits and genetics, but that a person’s environment can also play a key role (Goldstein). Studies show that approximately 50-60 percent of alcoholics are proposed to have a hereditary predisposition for it (King) and that a child of an alcoholic is four times greater to be diagnosed with alcoholism than a child who was not born from an alcoholic (Goldstein). However, many people are identified with alcoholism that are not children of alcoholics; in this case, they have been affected from the environment or an experience around them (King).

There are different approaches to recovering from alcoholism, but not all alcoholics succeed or attempt to recover. According to a long-term experiment, approximately only a third of alcoholics recover. George Vallient proposed that a few key characteristics of successful alcoholism recovery include one or more of the following: strong, optimistic relationships, a harmful alcohol experience, a support group such as Alcoholics Anonymous, and/or a replacement dependency (King).


click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9Cx4a4hiUo

In White Oleander, Astrid is exposed to a foster home with an alcoholic mother, Star. The clip shows Astrid lying in bed, listening to Star as she continually shouts in the background. When Astrid’s foster brother comes in a states that his mom is “drinking again” the viewers are to assume that Star has had previous problems with alcoholism. Star’s behavior also conforms to the psychological principle of alcoholism. She displays uncontrollable behavior of excessive yelling, caused most likely from an unnecessary amount of drinking. Star also is neglecting other important responsibilities such as keeping a family environment for her household. Her son shows from the scared look in his eye that he is worried about her drinking habits. White Oleander does a successful job of displaying the symptoms of alcoholism in Star’s life.

At an earlier age, Astrid took a hit from neglectful parenting. Neglectful parenting is described as a parenting style in which the parent has little or no involvement in their child’s life. They are unconscious about their child’s activities or doings (King). Not only are neglectful parents unaware of their children’s daily lives, but they are also undemanding. Neglectful parents completely leave their children to do as they please, without checking up or asking questions (Darling). Typically, they don’t show attentiveness or provide the basic necessities for their children; including their kid’s physical, intellectual, or emotional needs essential for healthy development. Neglectful parents will usually fail to provide their children with proper supervision, physical care, health care, emotional support, and educational upbringing (Glasgow).

Obviously, such neglect causes outcomes in the children’s lives. Diana Baumrind believes that neglected children tend to suffer from anxiety about social comparison, that they hold a lack of initiative, and are more likely to have poor communication skills (King). Three National Incidence Studies of child maltreatment in the United States have shown that child neglect is the most prevalent form of child maltreatment and for decades different National Child Abuse reports have documented half of the maltreated children in child protective services as neglected (Knutson).

click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCr6DGmyL4s

In White Oleander, Astrid suffered from neglectful parenting from her mother, Ingrid. The clip above displays Ingrid confessing when she neglected and left Astrid at a nanny’s house for about a year. Ingrid describes her neglectful parenting perfectly when she states, “You can’t imagine taking a nap in the afternoon to make love all day and not have to think, ‘What’s Astrid doing? Where’s Astrid? Mommy, mommy, mommy…” (White Oleander). Like Ingrid, during this year of abandoning Astrid, neglectful parents aren’t aware of their children’s lives or doings. This scene completely conforms to the psychological principle of neglectful parenting. Astrid’s father was a completely neglectful parent as well. For most of Astrid’s life, he didn’t bother to check up on her, care for her education, health, or emotional being.

Several psychological principles are displayed within White Oleander. Neglectful parenting is exemplified from Astrid’s mother abandoning her and the addictive personality of alcoholism is portrayed in one of Astrid’s foster-moms.