Objective: In this study, we aimed to search cognitive, behavioral and psychopathological differences between children of fathers with alcohol dependency and children of fathers without alcohol dependency.
Method: Forty-six children of 34 alcoholic fathers and 36 children of 34 non-alcoholic fathers, between the ages of 6 and 16 years were evaluated. Two groups were matched with each other on the basis of socioeconomic level of family, age and gender of children. All children were screened for psychiatric disorders according to DSM-IV criterias by using the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School Aged Children, Present and Lifetime Version (K-SADS-PL). The mothers and teachers completed the Child Behavior Checklist, Teacher Report Form and Conners Parents/Teachers Rating Scales. Furthermore, Wecshler Inteligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) and Bender Gestalt Visual Motor Coordination test were applied to all children. The mothers completed Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R).
Results: The findings of this research indicated that children of alcoholic fathers had a higher incidence of psychopathology. Teacher Report Form and Conners Teachers Rating Scale scores were higher in research group. It was also found that mothers in research group had higher level of psychiatric symptoms in SCL-90-R.
Conclusion: Alcohol dependent patients are an easily available group for clinicians. It can be more realistic to treat alcohol dependency as a family disease because of associated psychiatric problems in children and mothers. In addition to alcohol dependent fathers, including mothers and children in the psychiatric assessment and treatment plans may become a preventive step for the child.