A Sociological Study of Identity Instability of Children in the Course of Parents' Addiction

The increasing prevalence of drug addiction and drug abuse in the country and increasing incidence of infectious diseases, including women and youth, are the problems that has engulfed the minds in today's societies. The tendency to substance abuse is influenced by several factors, one of which is the family environment. The family is the earliest social institution that is directly harmed in the course of addiction. Accordingly, any change in the family system can be regarded as a change in the path of socialization of the individual which can change the way of life of the individual. Addiction often enters the family with a man and is affiliated with other members, including the mother and the children in the family. With the persistence of addiction in the family and the vulnerability of children, there are irreparable consequences for the family, one of which is the destabilization of the identity of the children. Material & The present sociological study aimed studying the instability of children's identity in the course of their parents' addiction. To this end, families whose mother and father or parents were involved in drug abuse (and in the field of addiction) were selected as samples of the study. The sample of the study consisted of 40 (children with parent or addicted parents and mothers with addicted children and wives). Sample selection until theoretical saturation and the continuation of the interviews did not add a new point to the research. It was continued until we considered the possibility of reaching the theoretical saturation with an example of 40 people. Due to the novelty of the subject and low amount of research in this regard, the present study is carried out qualitatively using the Grounded theory method. Discussion of Results &  The results indicate that factors such as lack of emotional support from the family, parents' neglect, humiliation of their children, comparison of addicted parents with others, irresponsibility of parents, child abuse from family disruption, failure of bonding relationships between children and parents, and eventually severe control of children lead to the emergence of identity instability in them, which is an important sociological impairment. In order to compensate for such adverse effects, children have three strategies for eliminating, coping, and recovering the problem, resulting in psychological complications, avoidance of society, impatience, irritability, verbal and physical violence, total irresponsibility of the parents, the deprivation of the basic facilities, spiritual immorality, suffering caused by the comparison, the compliment with the family members, and the destruction of self-confidence in children. According to findings from families with a parent or addicted parents, children are not emotionally, socially and economically protected, and they face irresponsibility and neglect from their parents. They face a certain sense of permanent loss in their everyday lives and relationships, in which the existence of dichotomies duplicates the issue. The child, on the one hand, recognizes the father as a kind of affection, but on the other hand, his criminal character and the concern to keep his father's addiction together with peers bring him with concern and tension. In this case, by comparing your parents with others, a sense of humility towards the parents is formed in him, which results in the child being in disarray over the family, because he sees himself in some way as a victim of unwanted conditions intensify day by day. The exacerbation of this situation has created a lasting stagnation in their family relationships, which is the cause of the destabilization of the identity of the children. In this case, the children, in addition to being individually aware of their identity and understanding, will not be able to establish social relationships that are effective in the society, and despite their poor family conditions, they are forced to avoid being present in the community. S/he resorts to applying various strategies such as eliminating, confronting, or compromising this phenomenon.