Religiousness and substance use in children of opiate addicts.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate among children of opiate addicts a potential protective effect of religiousness (broadly defined in the literature to include religious beliefs, practice, and tradition) against onset of substance use.


METHODS
Subjects were 161 opiate-addicted biological parents recruited from methadone maintenance programs in the New York metropolitan area, their 279 children, and 63 non-opiate-addicted parents with whom the child had daily contact. Childhood onset of substance use was assessed using the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Aged Children (K-SADS); parental DSM-III-R diagnosis of opiate addiction was assessed using the SADS-Lifetime Version (SADS-L).


RESULTS
Religiousness in children of opiate addicts was associated with a substantially decreased likelihood of onset of substance use. Parent-child concordance of religiousness showed additional protective qualities with respect to religious denomination in opiate-addicted parent and with respect to the personal importance of religion and frequent attendance of religious services in non-opiate-addicted parents.


CONCLUSIONS
Religiousness protects against substance use among children of opiate addicts.
Miller
L
L
Division of Clinical and Genetic Epidemiology, New York State Psychiatric Institute, USA. lfm14@columbia.edu
Weissman
M
M
Gur
M
M
Adams
P
P
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D016241:Child of Impaired Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009518:New York / Q000453:epidemiology; D009679:Nuclear Family / Q000523:psychology*; D009293:Opioid-Related Disorders; D012067:Religion; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology