Rejection Attitudes, Poor Parental Bonding, and Stressful Life Events in Heroin Addicts’ Families

Abstract

Background: The influence of family factors on the development and/or on maintenance of heroin addiction still remains unclear. Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate family factors, which might be associated with heroin addiction in a sample of male individuals. Methods: A group of 40 heroin addicts’ families was compared with a group of 17 families with a member presenting schizophrenia and a group of 27 families with mentally healthy members in regard to (1) parents’ rejection attitudes toward their adult child, (2) quality of parental bond, as perceived by the adult child, and (3) stressful life events in the nuclear family. Results: The main findings showed that the degree of rejection by the fathers in the heroin addicts’ families as well as in the subjects with schizophrenia was significantly higher compared to the fathers’ degree of rejection in the control group. Moreover, the degree of rejection by mothers in the heroin addicts’ families was significantly higher compared to the mothers’ degree of rejection in the control group. Heroin addicts reported that they had perceived less care from their fathers than healthy controls. The total number of stressful life events in the nuclear family was higher in the patients with schizophrenia in comparison to the healthy controls. Also, in the heroin addicts’ group, a significantly higher number of fathers presented a current or past psychiatric disorder. Conclusions: The findings of this study showed the importance of negative family factors in the course of heroin addiction.

Keywords:

• heroin addiction
• stressful life events
• parental bonding
• rejection
• schizophrenia

THE AUTHORS

Valeria Pomini is Psychologist and Family Therapist at the 1st Department of Psychiatry—National and Capodistrian University of Athens, Eginition Hospital, where she runs the Family Therapy Unit. Her main areas of interest are systemic family therapy and research, substance and alcohol abuse and addiction.

Rossetos Gournellis, MD is Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the 2nd Department of Psychiatry—National and Capodistrian University of Athens, Attikon Hospital. His main areas of interest are psychopathology, old age psychiatry, family psychotherapy.

Anna Kokkevi is Emeritus Professor of Psychology. Her main areas of interest are substance abuse and addiction, epidemiology, psychosocial research and prevention.

Vlassis Tomaras, MD is Associate Professor of Psychiatry. His main areas of interest are social and community psychiatry; family therapy; defense of mental health users' rights.

George Papadimitriou, MD is Professor of Psychiatry and Chair of the 1st Department of Psychiatry—National and Capodistrian University of Athens, Eginition Hospital. His main areas of interest are epidemiology, genetics, psychopathology, neuropsychophysiology.

John Liappas, MD is Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry. His main areas of interest are addiction, substance abuse, substance abuse and related psychopathology.