PARENT DRUG-USE, PARENT PERSONALITY, AND PARENTING

This study examined the relationship of parent drug use and specific p arent personality traits with four indicators of the parent-child bond : affection, child-centeredness, involvement, and nonconflictual relat ions. The participants (N = 71) were young mothers or fathers who have participated in a longitudinal study of 1,000 children and their pare nts from 1975 to the present. They answered a self-administered questi onnaire about themselves and their oldest child. Regression analyses i ndicated that the domains of parent drug use and parent personality ha d independent effects on most of the parent-child variables. Specific parent personality traits buffered the effect of drug use on aspects o f the bond. The implications of these findings are that reducing paren tal drug use can have direct and positive effects on the bond and can enhance some parent personality traits, thus strengthening the bond. P rotective personality characteristics can mitigate the impact of drug use on the bond.