Vulnerability, transgenerationality, parenting styles and use of psychoactive substances by adolescents

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between parenting styles, family psychological vulnerability environment (FPVE) and drug use among adolescents. Design/methodology/approach The quantitative survey using paper and pencil was administered to collect data from 284 parents registered with a paediatric clinic in the city of São Paulo (Brazil), most of whom claimed that their children used drugs. FPVE was measured by eight scales: family relationship patterns and drug use habits; hereditary predisposition to drug use; transmission of moral values to children (reverse); parents’ hereditary predisposition; parental drug use; depression; impulsiveness; and anxiety. Findings Dimensions of FPVE that had an effect on drug use by adolescents were: the family relationship and drug use patterns of the family of procreation, drug use by the parents and heredity in relation to drug use. Conversely, the family relationship and drug use patterns of the family of origin and the parents’ anxiety, symptoms of depression and impulsiveness did not affect their children’s drug use. Research limitations/implications One limitation of this study is the sample of parents. These parents were parents of adolescents who were on psychological treatment. The authors do not know if part of parents who declared that their children do not are drugs user, because the treatment effect. Another limitation is that the authors did not compare the effect of parents’ drugs misuse with parents who do not use drugs on adolescents’ drugs use. One other limit is that the authors treated the parents regardless of they were mothers and fathers. Originality/value This study expands the study of the antecedents on drug use by adolescents, considering FPVE as a construct. Regarding this construct, when facing resources limitation, the practitioners can prioritize strategies to prevent adolescents’ drug use.