Psychopathology and parent-child relationships in illicit drugs users

Abstract

Objectives: Drug usage represents an important and profound problem, as it can have long-term negative effects on the individual and society. According to previous studies, drug usage is connected to several factors, amongst which we also find psychopathology and the parent-child relationship. The purpose of this study was to explore illicit drug use, as well as to investigate its potential connections to psychopathology and the parent-child relationship of the subject.

Material and methods: There were 475 participants included in the research, all of them young adults from Slovenia. The Drug Usage Questionnaire was used for the drug use assessment, Symptom Checklist-90-Revised was used to assess the psychopathology symptoms, and the Parental Bonding Instrument was used for the assessment of parent-child relationships. The results were gathered in the summer of 2015.

Results: Most participants from the sample have tried marijuana, and the lowest amount have tried heroin. The number of drugs tried and the frequency of drug use is higher for men than for women. A significantly larger percentage of males have tried one or more illicit substances at least once. Drug usage is positively correlated to psychopathology, although correlations are small. Mother and father care are negatively correlated to drug usage, and only a mother’s overprotection is positively correlated to the researched variable.

Conclusions: The correlations between variables are small, but statistically significant, which indicates that drug usage is a wide and complex phenomenon. The research has demonstrated that drug use significantly correlates with psychopathology, parental care, and a mother’s overprotection. These factors can be considered when designing preventative and therapeutic programs. The research indicated a need for further research in this field.