A Family Study of the High‐Risk Children of Opioid‐ and Alcohol‐Dependent Parents

Abstract

In this article, the author sought to use a high-risk study design focused on the children of parents with opioid or alcohol use disorders and children of parents with no substance use disorder (SUD) to evaluate the specificity of the risk conferred by the type of parental SUD. Using structured psychiatric interviews, cognitive assessments, and measures of social, academic, and family functioning, the authors studied 96 families (187 parents and 183 children, mean age of 11.6 years). Sixteen families had parental opioid dependence (22 children, 64% male), 14 families had parental alcohol dependence (22 children; 59% male), and 66 families had no SUD (controls; 139 children; 58% male). Fifty-nine percent of children of opioid-dependent parents had at least one major psychopathological condition, compared to 41% of the alcohol group and 28% of the control group (p < 0.01). The children of opioid- and alcohol-dependent parents were of lower socioeconomic status and had significantly more diffculties in academic, social, and family functioning than did controls. Children of opioid- and alcohol-dependent parents have significantly higher rates of psychopathology as well as more difficulties in academic, social, and family functioning compared to the children of non-SUD parents. In addition, notable trends emerged for the opioid group to have more psychopathology and functional impairment than the alcohol group. With a growing consensus that certain risk factors for later SUD start in childhood with potentially treatable childhood-onset disorders, new preventive approaches for individuals at risk may be developed targeting childhood precursors of

Risk of Mental Disorders in Children of Parents with Alcohol or Heroin Dependence: A Controlled High-Risk Study

“…Although we did not observe a significantly elevated overall risk of Axis-I mental disorders in our young sample after adjustment for demographic variables in children and comorbid disorders in probands, our findings of an elevated risk of specific mental disorders in these offspring at high risk support and extend those of the majority of previous research in this field [21,23,24,25,27,28,30,31,32]. Indeed, several but not all studies have documented increased rates of mood disorders or internalizing disorders in the offspring of heroin addicts [23,24,25] as well as in offspring of probands with AD [23,24].…”

“…The increased morbid risk involved substance use disorders (SUD) and disruptive behavioral disorders (DBD) in three studies as well as major depressive disorder (MDD), anxiety disorders and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in two studies. Regarding the children of drug-dependent parents, three [23,24,25] out of five studies documented increased rates of Axis-I disorders in these children. In addition, one study on offspring of parents with either alcohol or drug use disorders documented high-risk offspring to exhibit increased rates of SUD and DBD compared to children of controls [21,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33].…”

“…Moreover, only the studies of Wilens et al [23] and Marmorstein et al [33] separately recruited offspring of alcohol- and drug-dependent parents, which allowed them to determine the specific effects of the two types of parental addiction by comparing the two groups of children. In the study of Hill et al [24], which included multiplex families with high risk for alcohol dependence (AD), the effects of parental AD and secondary drug disorders were assessed.…”

Psychiatric disorders in inhalant users: Results from The National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions

“…It is clear that a family history of psychopathology conveys a high risk for both internalizing and externalizing disorders among inhalant users. Its influences on inhalant use and psychopathology may be directly and indirectly linked with biological, familial, and environmental factors (e.g., dysfunctional family, poverty, poor parenting, school difficulties, and affiliating with deviant peers) (Brennan et al, 2002;Moss et al, 2002;Wilens et al, 2002). Our findings suggest that adolescent inhalant users with family histories of psychopathology may benefit from early prevention interventions that enhance their psychosocial health, academic performance, self-esteem, and coping skills.…”

The Association between a History of Parental Addictions and Arthritis in Adulthood: Findings from a Representative Community Survey

“…A history of parental addictions is often associated with anxiety and stress disorders in childhood [34] which may persist into adulthood [31]. In turn, anxiety and stress is associated with an elevated risk for adult onset arthritis [22].…”