EPA-1605 - The Impact of Family-related Factors on Alcohol Dependence

Abstract

Introduction

Alcoholism is a family disease. Many studies confirm that family history of alcoholism is associated with the development of later alcohol dependence.

Aims

To analyse the family's impact in the development of alcohol addiction in children grown up in these families.

Objectives

To create and distribute a questionnaire on family environment among group of alcoholic dependent and the control group and statistically analyse the results.

Methods

The research study was based on authors' anonymous questionnaire including questions referring to family structure, parents' divorce, prevalence of alcoholism of alcoholism in the family, parents' attitude towards alcohol and parent-child relationships. The study group consisted of 125 people, 83 men and 42 women, aged from 22 to 68 participating in treatment programs for alcohol addiction. The control group consisted of 231 people, 136 men and 95 women, aged from 17 to 65, with no history of alcoholism.

Results

The study group participants stated less frequently that they had been raised by both parents (78% vs. 87%;p<0.05). In this group one of the parents significantly more frequently abused alcohol (43% vs. 19%; p<0.05) or both parents abused alcohol (15% vs. 1%;p<0.05). The participants claimed to be more often punished for their failures, abused physically/verbally and could less often depend on their parents.

Conclusions

Based on these result we concluded that patients addicted to alcohol were more often raised by a single parent, they were more likely to have alcohol-dependent parents and relationship with their parents were more often impaired.