A cross sectional study of psychiatric morbidity in children of alcohol dependent fathers

ABSTRACT

Background: Children of Alcoholics (COAs) form a large but heterogeneous group. Along with genetic predisposition to develop dependence, COAs may inherit other comorbid mental disorders, that the alcohol dependence syndrome often presents with. Prevalence of psychiatric morbidity in children in general have been reported to be around 6.46 % in Indian studies. Studies done with COAs have shown mixed findings, reporting both internalizing, externalizing and other behaviour problems. With dearth of Indian studies assessing psychiatric morbidity in COAs, a study was conducted to assess same. Methodology: A cross sectional study was conducted in private de-addiction centre in South India. Sixty- five children in age group of 6 to 18 years, whose fathers were admitted for alcohol dependence syndrome, were assessed along with their primary care giver using a semi-structured socio-demographic proforma and Kiddie-Schedule for Affective Disorder and Schizophrenia-Present and Lifetime version. Chi square and independent samples t test were used as appropriate. Results: 55.4% of the children had some lifetime psychiatric diagnosis. Around 21.5% of children had more than one lifetime diagnoses. Most common disorders found were anxiety disorders followed by mood disorders. Comparison of socio-demographic variables with respect to presence or absence of any lifetime psychiatric diagnosis, anxiety disorders, mood disorders and multiple diagnoses did not reveal any significant differences. Conclusion: Psychiatric morbidity in COAs was higher than in children in general population as reported in other studies. Having alcohol dependent males in de-addiction centres provides an avenue for early detection and treatment of psychiatric morbidity in their children.