Heroin Addict Clients' Description of Their Families of Origin

The roots of deviance are often sought in the family of origin, and the families of male heroin addicts have not escaped such attention. (See Seldin, 1972, for a review of this literature.) A composite picture derived from the previously reported findings summarized in Table 1 suggests that the addict's mother is typically the dominant and pathological parent, while the father is either weak or absent. Yet it is usually the mother who is seen in positive terms by the addict himself, and the father who is viewed negatively. Presumably in many cases the addict simply accepts his mother's negative view of his father. Some common consequences of this family situation have been reported: (1) the addict's mother may depreciate her son because she sees him as like her husband, and the addict may incorporate his mother's negative appraisal into his self-concept; (2) the addict may experience unusual difficulty in achieving independence from his mother; (3) when he does, he may then select a similarly deviant woman for a mate; and (4) both wife and mother may unconsciously attempt to perpetuate the addict's drug use.