A Comparison of the Psychosocial Functioning of Children with Drug-Versus Alcohol-Dependent Fathers

• Published in: The American journal of drug and alcohol abuse 2004-11, Vol.30 (4), p.695-710
• Main Authors: Cooke, Cathy G., Kelley, Michelle L., Fals-Stewart, William, Golden, James
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Addictive behaviors; Adjustment; Adolescent; Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Alcohol; Alcohol Abuse; Alcoholism - psychology; Alcoholism - rehabilitation; Biological and medical sciences; Child; Child Abuse - psychology; Child Behavior Disorders - diagnosis; Child Behavior Disorders - psychology; Child of Impaired Parents - psychology; Child, Preschool; Children; Children of alcoholics; Combined Modality Therapy; Comparative analysis; Couples Therapy; Drug Abuse; Drugs; Family Relations; Father; Father-Child Relations; Fathers; Fathers - psychology; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Humans; Infant, Newborn; Male; Marital Therapy; Medical sciences; Mental health; Mother-Child Relations; Mothers - psychology; Parent Child Relations; Pregnancy; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; Psychoanalysis; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Psychosocial Factors; Social Adjustment; Street Drugs; Substance Abuse; Substance-Related Disorders - psychology; Substance-Related Disorders - rehabilitation
• ISSN: 0095-2990; 1097-9891
• DOI: 10.1081/ADA-200037530

The present study compared the psychosocial functioning of children whose fathers primarily abused illicit drugs other than alcohol (n = 51) to children from a demographically matched sample of families whose fathers abused alcohol (n = 51). Children with drug-abusing (DA) fathers exhibited significantly more negative child behaviors on a standardized child-rating scale than did children from homes with alcohol-abusing fathers. In addition, a significantly greater proportion of children with DA fathers met clinical cutoffs indicative of psychosocial impairment (n = 23; 45%) than did children whose fathers abused alcohol (n = 5; 10%). Mediation analyses indicated that severity of drug, legal, medical, employment, and family problems partially mediated the relationship between type of family (i.e., families with fathers who had an alcohol problem versus families with fathers who had a drug problem) and children's psychosocial adjustment.