The mothers and fathers of young drug abusers: their descriptions of self, spouse, ego ideal, and drug-abuser child
Date
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
Descriptions of self, spouse, imaginary ideal, and abuser child made by 26 mothers and fathers of young drug abusers were compared with corresponding descriptions made by counterpart parents of non-abusers. Both groups described themselves as strong, socially-acceptable persons with similar imaginary ideals. When descriptions of self were compared to descriptions of imaginary ideal, both groups indicated seif-rejection. There was no significant difference in the two groups' descriptions of spouse, and each group was seen both to identify with and devaluate the spouse. The two groups differed significantly in their descriptions of the child: parents of non-abusers depicted their child as strong and consistent, while abusers were characterized by hostile weakness and inconsistency. Comparisons of descriptions of imaginary ideal with descriptions of child indicated that members of each group devaluated the child, both in and away from the home. Parents of non-abusers identified the child's behavior, both in and away from home, with their own behavior significantly more than did the parents of abusers. Also, parents of non-abusers equated their spouse's behavior with their child's behavior, both in and away from home, significantly more than did the parents of abusers.