Impact of Loneliness and Family Environment among Multiple Drug Abusers and Non-drug Abusers

The present study isaimed to investigate impact of Loneliness and Family Environment among multiple drug abusers and non-drug abusers. The sample consisted of 60 participants (30 multiple substance abusers and 30 non-abusers) within the age group of 18 to 45 years. The participants were administered Family Environment Scale (Moos, and Moos, 1981), UCLA Loneliness scale (Russell, Peplau, &Cutrona, 1980; Russell, 1996) after taking their consent. The data was collected with purposive randomized sampling technique. To analyze the data, t-test for an independent sample was applied. The findings revealed that the non-abusers have scored higher on family cohesion, independence, achievement orientation, intellectual-cultural orientation, active-recreational orientation, and moral-religious emphasiswhereas, multiple substance abusers have scored high on family conflict and family control that indicates that the family environment of drug addicts is not conducive towards their growth and development. Multiple substance abusers have also scored high on loneliness as compared to non-abusers. The obtained findings are discussed within the context of existing research findings.

Feeling of loneliness is not only psychologically destructive but also a terrifying experience (Bekhet and Zauszniewski, 2012) that makes severe psychological and physical impact (Stickley et al., 2013). In social interaction, satisfaction is crucial and critical for health. Sense of loneliness can make difficulties in social interaction. It decreases the self-protective behaviour potentials as a social threatening factor (Heinrich and Gullone, 2006). It is believed that loneliness is a dysphoric experience. Feeling of loneliness has a close relationship with the emotional domain and individual cognitive function that can cause lack of adaptation in cognition, experience, and social expectations (Van Baarsen, 2002). Studies are in favor of the high prevalence of the sense of loneliness. Dykstra (2009), reported the prevalence rate about 8% to 10% and the other studies showed that 15% to 30% of people experience loneliness continuously. Heinrich and Gullone (2006) believed that one out of four people suffer from chronic loneliness. A recent review by Hawkley and Cacioppo (2010) revealed that about 80% of people aged lower 18 and 40% of the over 65 years reported feeling of loneliness at least sometimes.

Loneliness is a situation in which individual experience as one where there is an unpleasant or unacceptable lack of (quality of) certain relationships (De Jong Gierveld, 1987). Interpersonal needs play an essential role in development over the course of life (Bowlby, 1974) including the need for consistent interpersonal interaction and care or belonging (Baumeister& Leary, 1995). Joiner (2005) has proposed that low perceived “belongingness” and high perceived “burdensomeness” are potent risk factors for suicidal behaviour. Loneliness promotes risk among substance abusers; the subjective experience of loneliness is another important area to examine. The feeling of loneliness is very high in drug abusers as compared to non-drug abusers that could develop a sense of being different from community and increase the probability of taking high-risk behaviours and abusing drugs (Hosseinbor et al., 2014).

The climate of family life and its interactions have a strong co-relation to adolescents and drug abuse (Needle et al., 1988). Ledoux et al. (2002) reported those children from non-intact families, who were not satisfied with their relationship with their parents and who were less closely monitored, were more likely to be heavy substance users. Prendergart (1974) pointed that psychological tension in the father-child relationship may increase the use of drugs among the students. White et al. (1987) found that “heavy users” of illicit substances reported less nurturing from their parents at an earlier age than less frequent users. Elliott et al. (1985) and Jessor et al. (1991) reported that adolescents who feel emotionally distant, alienated or detached from their families will be more susceptible to social pressures to use illicit substances. In contrast, the mutual attachment between parents and children, combined with parental monitoring and limit setting, may serve as a restraint on drug use and delinquency during adolescence (Brook et al., 1990).

Multiplefamily factors may be associated with the development of drug use and abuse. As reviewed in Glantz and Pickens (1992), they may include poor child-parent relationship, family disruptions (e.g. divorce, acute or chronic stress), poor parenting, sympathetic parental attitude, parent and/or sibling drug use and social deprivation. Parents should not only discuss with their offspring about the increased risk of drug abuse through their genes but also should provide negative role models, especially the use and abuse of drugs as a coping mechanism.

Through social learning, children and adolescents absorb the values and expectations of their parents and possibly acquire their maladaptive coping techniques. This has been found to be seen with adolescent's initiation of marijuana (Bailey and Hubber, 1990). Further to this parental attitude towards use and abuse also play a role (Barnes and Welte, 1986).

Ledoux et al. (2002) reported those children from non-intact families, those who were not satisfied with their relations with their fathers or mothers and those who were less carefully monitored, were more likely to be heavy substance users. Adolescent alcohol and other substance abuse are part of a syndrome of problem behaviour (Schubert et al., 1988) embedded in a larger context, the problem family (Hendin et al., 1981). If this is so, then the alcohol and drug abuse of parents, the sexual and physical abuse of their children and other characteristics of the family. The current study assessed the status of loneliness with respect to the family environment and compared it among multiple substance abuses and without any substance abuser.