Psychotic Profile of Children of Substance Addict Fathers

The present research was designed to study the psychological effects of father’s substance addiction on their adult children. It was hypothesized that adult children of substance addicts will suffer more from psychological problems (paranoia, hypomania, and schizophrenia) than the adult children of non-addicts. A sample comprised 100 adult children (50 of substance addict fathers and 50 of non-addict fathers), matched on the variables of age, sex, residential area, family structure, and marital status. Each group included 27 adult sons and 23 adult daughters. The sample of first group was approached through different detoxification centers of Karachi. The second sample was from the neighborhood of the first group. In order to study the psychological problems, a structured interview form (Intake Card and Case History Sheet used in Institute of Clinical Psychology, University of Karachi) and Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) Urdu version (Mirza, 1977) was administered on children of both the groups individually. t-test was applied for statistical analysis of the data. It was found that adult children of substance addicts suffer significantly more from symptoms like paranoia and hypomania, as compared to adult children of non addicts, but they do not differ on the variable of schizophrenia.