Children of Substance Abusing Parents: Child Behavior Data of Brazilian Service

Determining the relevant risk factors and protective factors as well as the correlation between them is an important tool for preventing substance abuse. A case-control study of addiction and its risk factors was performed in 305 children and adolescents in Brazilian families (4-18 years of age) living in SãoPaulo. This study found that, among other risk factors, parents with an addiction to illicit drugs caused substantially harm to the psychological development of their children than parents with only an alcohol addiction. This effect was increased for younger children, who later developed psychiatric disorders or engaged in risky behaviors. Our data, which were obtained from an exclusively Brazilian sample, demonstrate that the children of addicted parents are an important risk group and should be further studied. The findings of this study confirm the need for more studies with this population and more readily available preventive interventions for the children of addicted parents.