The prevalence of conduct disorder among children of alcoholics in Baghdad city

Background: Alcohol dependency causes multiple medical and social problems to the patient and to family members especially the children. Aims: this study aims to find the possible relations between conduct disorder in children and alcohol dependence in parents. Patients and Methods: Fifty alcohol dependent in-patients admitted to the alcohol dependence unit at Ibn-Rushd psychiatric teaching hospital during the period March- August 2002 were interviewed for presence of alcohol dependency and personality disorder using semi structured interview schedule based on DSMIV criteria of alcohol dependency and antisocial personality disorder. One hundred fourteen children of these patients were interviewed for the presence of conduct disorder (information was taken from the parents and close relatives) using a semi structured interview schedule based on DSMIV criteria of conduct disorder and control group( 123 children of 50 non-alcoholic parents) had been taken from general population and interviewed by using the same schedule. Results: There was no big difference between the rate of conduct disorder in the study and the control group and (19.2%). (11.3%) (6-16% male, 2-9% female) and there is no significant relation between alcoholic parents and conduct disorder in their children. There is a relation between early onset age of alcoholism and conduct disorder in their children. Most of the parents of children with conduct disorder were of low education level.