VOLUME 9 , ISSUE 2 ( May-Aug, 2018 ) > List of Articles
G. S. Sumathi
Citation Information : Sumathi GS. COMPARISON OF THE PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS AMONG CHILDREN OF ALCOHOL DEPENDENTS WITH CHILDREN OF JUVENILE DIABETICS AND NORMAL CONTROLS.. 2018; 9 (2):12-17.
DOI: 10.5958/jnt-9-2-12
License: CC BY-NC 4.0
Published Online: 01-02-2021
Copyright Statement: Copyright © 2018; The Author(s).
Alcoholism is a family disease which affects not merely the alcoholic, but ruins the lives of countless families. Children raised in alcohol abusing families show high rates of behavioral and emotional problems. This study has 2 objectives, they are, (1)To assess and compare the psychological problems among children of Alcohol dependents with children of Juvenile diabetics and Normal controls. (2)To determine the association between the psychological problems among the children of Alcohol dependent, Juvenile diabetics and Normal controls with selected demographic variables. A comparative descriptive research design was adopted. 180 children (60 from each study group) were selected using non probability convenience sampling technique. The Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL 6-18) a standardized tool was used to assess the psychological problems in children. The findings revealed that children of alcohol dependent fathers (41.7%) showed 5-fold increase in the clinical range of syndrome scores on CBCL than children of juvenile diabetic fathers (8.3%). Regarding borderline clinical range, children of alcohol dependent fathers (16.7%) showed 2.5- fold increase in the syndrome scores when compared with children of juvenile diabetic fathers (6.7%) and 3- fold increase with children of normal control fathers. Girls had more psychological problems when compared to boys. Between 6-11 years of age, both boys and girls scored equally whereas between 12-18 years of age, girls showed higher scores in overall psychological problems than boys. The internalizing behaviors of children (mean 66.92) were high when compared with control groups (mean 56.20 and 58.58). More girls than boys showed an increase in internalizing symptoms in the age between 12-18 years than 6-11 years of age. Children of alcohol dependents showed higher mean scores (56.82) in externalizing behaviors than control groups (51.45 and 51.50). There was a significant association between the psychological problems and age of the children among the study groups. The need for sensitizing the family members on the issues of alcoholism and to adopt the coping strategies by them is highlighted in this study.