Am J Psychiatry 1995; 152:456-458
Copyright © 1995 by American Psychiatric Association
Substance abuse and family relationships of persons with severe mental illness
L Dixon, S McNary and A Lehman
Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland, Baltimore 21201.
OBJECTIVE: The authors sought to determine how substance abuse affects
family relationships of persons with severe mental illness. METHOD: Patient
reports of family relationships were compared between 101 psychiatric
inpatients with a concurrent substance use disorder and 78 subjects with
severe mental illness only. RESULTS: Patients with comorbid substance abuse
reported significantly lower family satisfaction and a greater desire for
family treatment. Objective indicators of frequency of family contact did
not differ. CONCLUSIONS: Substance abuse is associated with low levels of
satisfaction with family relationships among persons with severe mental
illness. Family interventions would meet the stated needs of persons with
mental illness and a comorbid substance use disorder and might help to
engage them in treatment.
