Disruptive Behavior Disorders in 8 to 14 Years Old Offspring's of Opium and Heroin Dependent Parents: a Case-Control Study

BACKGROUND: Drug abuse is usually associated with behavioral disorders in children especially conduct disorder. This study investigated the behavioral disorders of children whose parents were opium or heroin dependent in compare with children whose parents were non-addicts to find the effects of drug abuse on offspring's behavior disorders by adjusting intervening factors. METHODS: This case-control study, compared the behavioral disorders of 128 students (aged 8 to 14 years) in two groups of opium or heroin dependent parents and non–dependent parents (n = 64 in both groups) using Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) questionnaire. Parents of both groups were checked not to have any significant psychiatric disorder (such as personality disorder or mood disorder), major health problem, and history of divorce. To compare percentages of the two groups, chi square and if required exact test were used. FINDINGS: There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in subscales of oppositional behavior problems and problems disorders. CONCLUSION: According to the results, in case there is no psychiatric co-morbidity associated with opium and heroin abuse, drug dependency does not seem to have any effect on disruptive bahavior disorder of children. Due to study limitations, the results cannot be generalized without conducting the study on a bigger population.