Chapter 9 deals with family risks and resiliencies. Families are composed of members who have constant and dynamic relationships with each other and they form a system. An addict affects this system and each member of the family affects the addict in one way or another. The article, Familial Risk Factors Favoring Addiction Onset, explains a study that shows how family plays a large role in the addiction cycle. This study sought to identify familial risk factors that influence the onset of drug addiction. Research was conducted throughout 2008 and 2009. This was a fairly large study with 146 addicts and 134 control subjects. The results of the study showed that the addicts were born into families that influenced their psychosocial development to favor drugs or alcohol during adolescence or childhood. Certain risk factors were encountered more by those who are addicts compared to the control group. Among these factors, those that were found to have the greatest impact and influence on addiction are early separation from the parents, unfavorable perception of the father figure or his absence from the family, and conflicting, cold and distant relations with the parents. This article defines the family as a core community that is primarily responsible for the upbringing of its offspring, expected to show continuous care for children’s psychophysical development, may be considered essential for personality shaping and viewed as a primary social group. The way someone is raised has been shown to play a crucial role in the development of addiction. Addictions are also known to run in families, so children of addicts are more likely to become an addict too.
This article and what we have learned in class and read in the textbook place a high importance on the family as part of the recovery process. Currently, it is thought that the implementation of family-based approaches to therapy and addiction are the best ways to treat addiction. This way, family influences and risk factors are also addressed. However, this study indicates the need for further research into how family interrelations and structure affect addicts. Also, family-oriented drug addiction preventions are a relatively unexplored area and a challenge that should be addressed in the years to come.
Article: Zimić, J., & Jukić, V. (2012). Familial risk factors favoring drug addiction onset. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 44(2), 173-185.
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