Family violence, abuse, and related family issues of incarcerated delinquents with alcoholic parents compared to those with nonalcoholic parents.

Experts in the fields of child development, psychology, and criminology agree that family system variables play a key role in the development of delinquent and other deviant behaviors. Professionals in the field of substance abuse estimate that there may be at least 22 million children who have been or are currently being raised in homes with substance-abusing parents. Many studies have documented the relationships between being raised in such an environment and a variety of emotional and deviant characteristics. These individuals have been found to suffer from low self-esteem, depression, anger, and a variety of acting-out behaviors. This study investigated the differences between incarcerated juveniles from substance-abusing families and those from non-substances-abusing families. Significant differences were found in the areas of family violence, abuse; runaway, and self-reported substance abuse.