Relationship between family mental health problems and substance use disorders: a gender perspective analysis

Background: Little is known about family mental illness and substance use disorder (SUD). This casecontrol study explored the relationship between family (parents and/or siblings) mental health problems (FMHP) and lifetime substance use disorder (SUD), considering a gender perspective. Methods: A sample of 387 patients (n = 306 men, 79.1%; n = 81 women, 20.9%) was recruited from the Proyecto Hombre Navarra (Spain) addiction treatment program. Patients with (80 men; 24 women) and without (226 men; 57 women) FMHP were compared, taking sex into account. Results: The prevalence of FMHP was 26.9%, without significant differences between men (n = 80; 26.1%) and women (n = 24; 29.6%). Men with FMHP reported higher severity in family/social and psychiatric areas than those without FMHP. Women with FMHP reported a higher severity in the psychiatric area and a higher prevalence of anxiety problems, suicidal attempts, previous psychopharmacological treatments, and physical abuse than women without FMHP. Conclusions: FMHP is highly prevalent in patients with SUD. They are associated with lifetime psychopathological problems, mainly in men. Further specific research is needed to evaluate this issue to develop specific treatments tailored to the needs of patients with FMHP. This project was supported by a grant [code PSI2016–76511-R] from the Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI) of the Spanish Government and Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional of the European Union (FEDER, EU) and by a grant [589/2021] from Universidad Publica de Navarra and Fundación Bancaria Caja Navarra. Open access funding provided by Universidad Pública de Navarra.