The emotional and psychiatric problems of adolescents on parole whose parents are substance users: a Brazilian cross-sectional study

Ludmila Gonçalves Perruci, Alessandra Diehl, Belisa Vieira Da Silveira, Jessica Adrielle Teixeira, Jacqueline Souza, Adriana Inocenti Miasso, Patricia Leila Dos Santos, Manoel Antônio Dos Santos, Roberto Molina De Souza, Sandra Cristina Pillon*, Christopher Wagstaff

*Corresponding author for this work

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Abstract

The aim of this study is to evaluate the associations between having parents with substance use problems, and having suffered neglect within the family, and behavioral problems (psychological and drug use) among adolescents. All the participants were enrolled on the socio-educational parole scheme, ‘Assisted Freedom’. In this cross-sectional study, 150 adolescents were interviewed using the Drug Abuse Screening Test, Teen Addiction Severity Index, and Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. Ninety-five percent of the participants were male (n = 143), aged 13–17. Thirty percent of adolescents had a parent who used substances and had experienced neglect from their families. Those adolescents who were living with both parents (odds ratio adjusted (ORA) = 2.7, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.13–6.37), from a low-income family (ORA = 6.7, 95% CI = 1.85–24.22), experienced hallucinations (ORA = 2.8, 95% CI = 1.25–6.14), had problems controlling violent behavior (ORA = 2.6, 95% CI = 1.12–5.87), and were physically neglected (ORA = 3.0, 95% CI = 1.24–7.49) were more likely to have parents who used substances and to have experienced parental neglect. This article concludes that adolescents, who are on parole, come from families with high level of psychosocial vulnerabilities, including substance use, experience neglect by their families leading to adverse emotional and psychological states.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)253-267
Number of pages15
JournalJournal of Child Health Care
Volume25
Issue number2
Early online date12 May 2020
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2021

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by the Scholarship of the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES)—DEMANDA SOCIAL/Pelo Programa de Pós-Graduação em Enfermagem Psiquiátrica (EERP USP).

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2020.

Keywords

  • Adolescent
  • child abuse
  • child maltreatment
  • juvenile delinquency
  • parenting
  • substance-related disorders

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