Family dysfunction and alcohol and drug use in adolescent psychiatric inpatients

This report examines the relationship between family functioning and substance abuse in adolescent psychiatric inpatients. The adolescents, who had been hospitalized after acute psychiatric crises, provided reports of drug and alcohol use, intoxication-related problems, and family functioning during the 4 months preceding hospitalization. Greater degrees of family dysfunction in the areas of affective responsiveness and role functioning were associated with higher levels of substance abuse. When age, sex, and diagnosis were controlled for, family dysfunction in these areas was still significantly associated with alcohol consumption but not with drug use or intoxication-related problems. Implications for treatment are discussed.