Family functioning and health issues associated with codependency in families of drug users

• Autor(a) principal: Bortolon,Cassandra Borges
• Data de Publicação: 2016
• Outros Autores: Signor,Luciana, Moreira,Taís de Campos, Figueiró,Luciana Rizzieri, Benchaya,Mariana Canellas, Machado,Cássio Andrade, Ferigolo,Maristela, Barros,Helena Maria Tannhauser
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Ciência & Saúde Coletiva (Online)
• Texto Completo: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1413-81232016000100101
• topic: Codependency; Family; Drug users; Telephone

Abstract Substance abuse affects both the user and the family system as a whole, yet substance abuse treatment is centered on the user, leaving the family in the background. Objective: To identify the symptoms of codependency and health issues in the codependent family members of drug users who called a toll-free telephone counseling service. In total, 505 family members participated in this cross-sectional study. Drug users’ mothers and wives who had less than 8 years of education and those who were unemployed had a greater chance of high codependency. It was also determined that a high level of codependency imposed a significant burden on the physical and emotional well-being of those affected, resulting in poor health, reactivity, self-neglect and additional responsibilities. It was concluded that codependency has a negative impact on the family system and on the health of the family members of drug users.