Family factors in the lives of drug users and abusers

A review of the literature suggested nine family factors which had an impact upon drug use: parental absence, discipline, scapegoating, hypocritical morality, parent-child communication gap, parental divorce, mother-father conflicts, family breakup, and the use of "psychological crutches" to cope with stress. In addition, data were collected on the closest family member to the drug-taking subject, the subject's perception of the most powerful family member, the family member who used "psychological crutches," and situations where the most powerful person in the family used "psychological crutches." A paired analysis between drug users and drug abusers yielded significant differences on the use of two "psychological crutches" to cope with stressful situations: drugs and denial. Drug users were less likely to come from families where there was a communication gap and more likely to come from families which used democratic disciplinary techniques. Drug abusers came from families where there was a communication gap and either laissez faire or authoritarian discipline. Drug abusers also came from families where the person whom they defined as most powerful tended to use "psychological crutches" to cope with stress.