Rejection attitudes, poor parental bonding, and stressful life events in heroin addicts' families.
BACKGROUND
The influence of family factors on the development and/or on maintenance of heroin addiction still remains unclear.


OBJECTIVE
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.
11st Department of Psychiatry, National and Capodistrian University of Athens, Eginition Hospital, Athens, Greece.
Valeria
V
Pomini
Rossetos
R
Gournellis
Anna
A
Kokkevi
Vlassis
V
Tomaras
George
G
Papadimitriou
John
J
Liappas
D000328:Adult; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology; D005220:Fathers / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006115:Greece; D006556:Heroin Dependence / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012059:Rejection, Psychology; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D055815:Young Adult
heroin addiction; parental bonding; rejection; schizophrenia; stressful life events