[Alcoholic father, adolescent drug abuse and protective factors].
OBJECTIVE
To compare the children of alcoholic fathers who do not develop alcohol or drug problems in adolescence (that is, resilient children) to those who do, focusing on characteristics of personality and family. Various behavioural traits are examined as resilience factors, as are certain educational practices of the parents.


METHODS
Resilience factors were studied throughout childhood, from age 6 to 12 years. The presence or absence of alcohol or drug problems was assessed at the age of 15 or 16 years.


RESULTS
Close to 1000 children of both sexes participated in the study. As expected, paternal alcoholism was an important risk factor in the development of substance abuse problems in adolescence. The risk, however, diminishes with personality traits such as low thrill-seeking behaviour and a propensity for inhibition. These traits cannot be considered resilience factors, however, because their effect is as present in children of nonalcoholic fathers as in children of alcoholic fathers. Parental supervision proves to be a protective influence and was found to reduce the risk of substance abuse in children of alcoholic fathers.


CONCLUSIONS
These results indicate that, above and beyond personality variables, the presence of an alcoholic father constitutes a high risk factor for adolescent drug addiction. Nevertheless, parental supervision may attenuate this risk and is therefore an important means of intervention.
Vitaro
F
F
Ecole de psychoéducation, Université de Montréal, Québec. frank.vitaro@umontreal.ca
Tremblay
R E
RE
Zoccolillo
M
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D005219:Father-Child Relations; D005220:Fathers / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D011619:Psychotropic Drugs
Père alcoolique, consommation de psychotropes à l'adolescence et facteurs de protection.