Parental substance abuse and its relationship to severe aggression and antisocial behavior in youth

FRANÇAIS :
Cette recherche porte sur les relations supposées entre la consommation de produits par les parents (alcool ou autres) et les troubles du comportement de leurs enfants. Après étude d'un groupe d'enfants et d'adolescents hospitalisés, il ressort que des consommations parentales définies avec précision sont liées à des comportements agressifs et destructeurs graves et/ou à des troubles de la conduite. Ainsi, la consommation parentale de produits autres que l'alcool semble favoriser l'apparition d'un comportement anti-social et d'une grave agressivité. Ce pronostic peut être renforcé en cas de consommation de produit par le père, la consommation maternelle semblant moins importante.
ENGLISH :
Research concerning hypothesized relationships between parental alcoholism and conduct problems in their children has had mixed findings. In this study, general and specific aspects of a possible relationship between a history of parental substance abuse (a category including parental alcohol abuse and parental abuse of other substances) with antisocial behavior and severe aggressive/destructive behavior was studied by reviewing preadmission variables in a large group of hospital-treated children and adolescents. The results indicated that various categories of more specifically defined parental substance abuse (e.g., substance abuse in fathers) were related to severe aggressive/destructive behavior and/or conduct disorder in their children. Parental abuse of nonalcohol substances appears to be more important than parental alcohol abuse in predicting severe aggressive and antisocial behavior. Substance abuse in fathers, especially abuse of substances other than alcohol, also seems more important than substance abuse in mothers in predicting severe aggression and conduct disorder. (Author's abstract)