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cynical one · 07-01-2009, 12:52 AM

Drug-Abusing Father's and the Effect on Their Children
HealthNewsDigest.com - July 12, 2004
Study Is First to Link Drug-Abusing Fathers to Serious Psychopathology in Their Children

Problems markedly worse than in children with alcoholic fathers or non-abusing fathers.

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- (HealthNewsDigest.com)...A study by researchers at the University at Buffalo and Old Dominion University has found that being raised by a father who abuses drugs is even more harmful to the mental health of school-aged children than being raised by a father who is an alcoholic.

The study, one of the few to focus on children living with drug-addicted fathers, found that such children exhibit significantly higher levels of worrying, anxiety, depression, behavioral acting out, and other antisocial behaviors than do children in families with alcoholic fathers or families in which neither parent abused drugs.

"Many studies have assumed that children of alcoholics and children of drug abusers were very similar," said William Fals-Stewart, Ph.D., lead investigator and a senior research scientist at UB's Research Institute on Addictions (RIA).

"Our findings, however, indicate that fathers who are drug abusers expose their children to more conflict, poorer parenting and greater physical violence between the parents than do alcoholic fathers. Drug addicted fathers also tend to watch over their children less well than alcoholic fathers.

"As a result," he says, "children being raised by drug-abusing fathers have more emotional and behavioral problems than children whose fathers are alcoholic."

Previous research, for instance, has found that witnessing violence at home undermines a child's sense of personal security. This study found that children of drug-abusing fathers were more likely to witness violence in their homes than are children of alcoholic fathers.

Drug-addicted fathers in the study also exhibited more dysfunctional disciplinary practices with their children. In particular, they tended to over-react to a child's misbehavior . This, says Fals-Stewart, appears partially responsible for the higher levels of anxiety, fearfulness, helplessness, and ultimately, depression found in their children.

"Earlier studies identified some areas of disturbance in early childhood among children of drug abusers, including attention problems," he adds, "but offered little evidence of the global psychiatric impairment we found here."

The study also found that:
-- Mothers' parenting practices did not vary significantly across family types. Mothers in homes with drug-addicted fathers -- none of the mothers in the study were addicted to drugs or alcohol. -

-- Drug-abusing fathers reported a significantly lower level of paternal monitoring of child behavior than did alcoholic or non-substance-abusing fathers. The researchers say that paternal monitoring appears related to the level of acting-out behavior of children studied. This finding supports a substantial body of earlier research that links low levels of parental monitoring with delinquency and antisocial behavior.

The study found that parenting behavior and levels of parental conflict affect children's mental health. This contradicts prior attempts to attribute all effects of family distress on children to parenting problems alone.

The study consisted of 120 custodial couples with children ages 8-12. One child (the "target child") in that age group was studied in each family.
Forty families had fathers who met the American Psychological Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, 4th ed. (DSM-IV) criteria for current cocaine or opiate dependence.

The emotional and behavioral adjustment of target children was assessed through interviews with parents, teachers and the children themselves. Researchers also used a number of well-documented measurement tools to assess the children's depressive symptoms, levels of anxiety and acting out behavior, levels and types of parental conflict in the home, parenting monitoring behavior, and the level of dysfunctional discipline practiced by parents.

The other investigators on the study were Michelle L. Kelley Ph.D. professor of psychology at Old Dominion University; and James Golden and Timothy Logsdon RIA project staff associate and counselor respectively.

The Research Institute on Addictions has been a leader in the study of addictions since 1970 and a research center of the University at Buffalo since 1999. The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public university the largest and most comprehensive campus in the State University of New York. UBs more than 27000 students pursue their academic interests through more than 300 undergraduate graduate and professional degree programs.

07-01-2009, 12:52 AM	#1 (permalink)
cynical one Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 655	Drug-Abusing Father's and the Effect on Their Children Drug-Abusing Father's and the Effect on Their Children HealthNewsDigest.com - July 12, 2004 Study Is First to Link Drug-Abusing Fathers to Serious Psychopathology in Their Children Problems markedly worse than in children with alcoholic fathers or non-abusing fathers. BUFFALO, N.Y. -- (HealthNewsDigest.com)...A study by researchers at the University at Buffalo and Old Dominion University has found that being raised by a father who abuses drugs is even more harmful to the mental health of school-aged children than being raised by a father who is an alcoholic. The study, one of the few to focus on children living with drug-addicted fathers, found that such children exhibit significantly higher levels of worrying, anxiety, depression, behavioral acting out, and other antisocial behaviors than do children in families with alcoholic fathers or families in which neither parent abused drugs. "Many studies have assumed that children of alcoholics and children of drug abusers were very similar," said William Fals-Stewart, Ph.D., lead investigator and a senior research scientist at UB's Research Institute on Addictions (RIA). "Our findings, however, indicate that fathers who are drug abusers expose their children to more conflict, poorer parenting and greater physical violence between the parents than do alcoholic fathers. Drug addicted fathers also tend to watch over their children less well than alcoholic fathers. "As a result," he says, "children being raised by drug-abusing fathers have more emotional and behavioral problems than children whose fathers are alcoholic." Previous research, for instance, has found that witnessing violence at home undermines a child's sense of personal security. This study found that children of drug-abusing fathers were more likely to witness violence in their homes than are children of alcoholic fathers. Drug-addicted fathers in the study also exhibited more dysfunctional disciplinary practices with their children. In particular, they tended to over-react to a child's misbehavior . This, says Fals-Stewart, appears partially responsible for the higher levels of anxiety, fearfulness, helplessness, and ultimately, depression found in their children. "Earlier studies identified some areas of disturbance in early childhood among children of drug abusers, including attention problems," he adds, "but offered little evidence of the global psychiatric impairment we found here." The study also found that: -- Mothers' parenting practices did not vary significantly across family types. Mothers in homes with drug-addicted fathers -- none of the mothers in the study were addicted to drugs or alcohol. - -- Drug-abusing fathers reported a significantly lower level of paternal monitoring of child behavior than did alcoholic or non-substance-abusing fathers. The researchers say that paternal monitoring appears related to the level of acting-out behavior of children studied. This finding supports a substantial body of earlier research that links low levels of parental monitoring with delinquency and antisocial behavior. The study found that parenting behavior and levels of parental conflict affect children's mental health. This contradicts prior attempts to attribute all effects of family distress on children to parenting problems alone. The study consisted of 120 custodial couples with children ages 8-12. One child (the "target child") in that age group was studied in each family. Forty families had fathers who met the American Psychological Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, 4th ed. (DSM-IV) criteria for current cocaine or opiate dependence. The emotional and behavioral adjustment of target children was assessed through interviews with parents, teachers and the children themselves. Researchers also used a number of well-documented measurement tools to assess the children's depressive symptoms, levels of anxiety and acting out behavior, levels and types of parental conflict in the home, parenting monitoring behavior, and the level of dysfunctional discipline practiced by parents. The other investigators on the study were Michelle L. Kelley Ph.D. professor of psychology at Old Dominion University; and James Golden and Timothy Logsdon RIA project staff associate and counselor respectively. The Research Institute on Addictions has been a leader in the study of addictions since 1970 and a research center of the University at Buffalo since 1999. The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public university the largest and most comprehensive campus in the State University of New York. UBs more than 27000 students pursue their academic interests through more than 300 undergraduate graduate and professional degree programs.