Adjustment Issues Among Adolescents of Substance Using Parents

Adolescence is the most important period of human life which is called the transitional period of life. Adolescence is also a period of progress towards mental, intellectual and emotional maturation. It is estimated that six to nine million children and adolescents in the United States have mental or behavioral problems. Indian Council of Medical Research reported that about 12.8 per cent of children (1-16 years) suffer from mental health problems. With respect to adolescent adjustment, parental warmth/involvement and behavioral control are associated with greater social competence, autonomy, positive attitudes toward school and work, academic achievement and self-esteem, as well as with less depression, school misconduct, delinquency and drug use. There is strong evidence to suggest that family dysfunction during childhood can negatively influence later life experiences and adjustment. Drinking behavior may interrupt normal family tasks, cause conflict and demand adjustive and adaptive responses from family members who do not know how to appropriately respond. Parental alcohol abuse is an independent risk factor for attention and conduct problems at school, which is not fully mediated by adolescent mental distress. Prior research has found that characteristics of the family (e.g., parental monitoring, parental discipline, family conflict, family rituals) may mediate and/or moderate the relationship between parental alcoholism and offspring adjustment. The Longitudinal associations between fathers' heavy drinking patterns and children's psychosocial adjustment results demonstrated significant and meaningful associations between these drink patterns in fathers and adjustment problems in children over time. It is therefore important that the therapeutic needs of these children are addressed through individual psychotherapy and other supportive therapies by providing an opportunity for ventilation of feelings and integrating elements that will boost their self esteem and promote their psychosocial adjustment in deficient areas. Normal difficulties and dilemmas associated with adolescence in general could be worked through in these sessions besides focusing on issues pertaining to parental alcoholism. Intervention with children of alcoholics or substance users, must hence involve resolution of individualized issues pertaining to adolescence as well as parental alcoholism. Elements to enhance their self esteem and adjustment across various domains need to be consciously included besides involving them in family therapy sessions.