Codependency, Psychological Problems and Time of Exposure to Parents with aHistory of Psychoactive Substance Dependence

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Abstract

The concept of codependency is controversial and related to psychological difficulties of family members of people with dependence of psychoactive substances, as well as covering family disorganization contexts not associated with this dependence. The study evaluated the correlation of codependency and internalizing and externalizing problems in adolescents, children of parents with a history of psychoactive substance dependence, according to gender, and a possible correlation between codependency and time of exposure to this family member, also according to gender. This study evaluated 30 adolescents, aged 13 to 18, of a city in the interior a city of the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Using the Spann-Fischer Codependency Scale and the Youth Self-Report, a strong correlation between codependency and psychological problems was observed among girls. Also, was found a strong positive correlation between codependency and the intermittent time of exposure to the family member when in use/abuse, in boys. For both gendersthere was no correlation between codependency and continuous time of exposure to the family member in that condition, which suggests that codependency transcends the mere presence of the person living together when using/abusing substances.