Role of parents in drug dependence

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to identify the parental patterns in the social development as perceived by children and its relation to the addictive behavior in a sample of 68 Egyptians [64 males and 4 females aged 17-24 years] with clinically drug abusers or dependents according to DSM IV criteria, frequently visiting four centers of addiction in Cairo and Giza in addition to a control group taken from similar age, sex, level of education, social and economic levels of non-addictive individuals. The study revealed that the families of dependent individuals deviated greatly from the general healthy patterns during the process of social development. It was noticed that the dependents were always relying on their families. The parents' rejection led to a natural reaction of rejection of the child. The father tended to have a more deviated pattern than mothers. Hesitancy is a pattern including the mind more than emotions; the father represents the former, while the mother represents the later. The child usually gets alone with his mother more than his father