title: Family functioning and health issues associated with codependency in families of drug users.
abstract: Substance abuse affects both the user and the family system as a whole, yet substance abuse treatment is centered on the user, leaving the family in the background.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To identify the symptoms of codependency and health issues in the codependent family members of drug users who called a toll-free telephone counseling service. In total, 505 family members participated in this cross-sectional study. Drug users' mothers and wives who had less than 8 years of education and those who were unemployed had a greater chance of high codependency. It was also determined that a high level of codependency imposed a significant burden on the physical and emotional well-being of those affected, resulting in poor health, reactivity, self-neglect and additional responsibilities. It was concluded that codependency has a negative impact on the family system and on the health of the family members of drug users.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Farmacologia e Toxicologia, Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil, cassandra.bortolon@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Cassandra Borges
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Bortolon
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Farmacologia e Toxicologia, Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil, cassandra.bortolon@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Luciana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Signor
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Farmacologia e Toxicologia, Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil, cassandra.bortolon@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Taís de Campos
authors.initials: Tde C
authors.lastname: Moreira
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Farmacologia e Toxicologia, Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil, cassandra.bortolon@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Luciana Rizzieri
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Figueiró
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Farmacologia e Toxicologia, Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil, cassandra.bortolon@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Mariana Canellas
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Benchaya
authors.affiliation: Grupo Hospitalar Conceição, Brasil.
authors.forename: Cássio Andrade
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Machado
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Farmacologia e Toxicologia, Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil, cassandra.bortolon@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Maristela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ferigolo
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Farmacologia e Toxicologia, Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil, cassandra.bortolon@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Helena Maria Tannhauser
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Barros
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017004:Codependency, Psychological; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D055030:Drug Users; D004651:Employment; D005192:Family Health; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders; D055815:Young Adult