| Given the prevalence of drug abuse in society, family members of drug users are inevitably impacted, yet they have been infrequently studied. The first purpose of this study was to provide an understanding of the family members and significant others (FSOs') who sought unilateral treatment in terms of: (a) selected characteristics of their relationship with the drug user (i.e., levels of satisfaction, cohesion, interpersonal power, interpersonal dependency, and enmeshment); and (b) their psychological distress and personality characteristics. The second, and main, purpose of the study was to examine whether the aforementioned relationship characteristics could predict: (a) the FSOs' treatment tenure; and (b) the FSOs' levels of global distress, depression, and anxiety post-treatment.; Sixty-six participants completed the intake evaluation and were referred to 10 weeks of Nar-Anon, the unilateral intervention used in this investigation. Results from descriptive analyses indicated that FSOs reported below-average levels of satisfaction, and general feelings that they lacked interpersonal power/influence with the drug user. However, FSOs reported average levels of cohesion, interpersonal dependency, and enmeshment within the relationship. In terms of psychological distress, FSOs reported symptoms comparable with outpatient mental health populations. However, the FSOs, on average, were less likely to meet criteria for personality disorders than outpatient mental health populations.; Results from multiple regression analyses indicated that none of the predicting variables were significantly related to the FSOs' treatment tenure. However, the FSOs' levels of interpersonal dependency were significantly predictive of post-treatment depression and anxiety. Secondary analyses indicated that partners reported significantly higher levels of interpersonal dependency than did parents. Exploratory analyses indicated that FSOs who lived with the drug user were more likely to attend more treatment sessions and to report higher levels on all distress variables post-treatment compared to FSOs who did not live with the drug user. The clinical implications, limitations of this investigation, and directions for future research are discussed. |
