Drug use in the family context

Abstract

Family problems in drug users are presented in the literature, however, the type of drug used by parents and siblings need to be discussed. Thus, the objective of this study is to describe the problematic use of drugs by family members, identifying the kinship degree and the type of drug used as well as to understand their sociodemographic characteristics. Therefore, a quantitative, transversal and descriptive research was accomplished. The participants were a total of 128 drug users in hospital treatment, being excluded the ones who presented psychotic disorder and cognitive impairment. Most of the participants were single; with low level of education; and earned an average of at the most one minimum Brazilian salary. Family problems with drug use were reported by 85.15% (n=109) of participants. The problematic use of alcohol was mentioned mostly by the father part, smoking by the mother part and cocaine by the sibling part. These data indicate that problems with licit drugs have been described by the parents side and the use of illicit drugs by the siblings side. Thus, it is clear that preventive actions should focus on the types of drugs used by the family members. Moreover, the necessary changes to the drug users in treatment should also be considered according to family members.