The Comparison of Emotional-Behavioral Disorders, Self-Concept and Academic Achievement in Children of Substance-Dependent and Non-Dependent Parents

Objective: The present study was conducted to compare emotional-behavioral disorders, self-concept and academic achievement between children with substance-dependent and non-dependent parents. Method: This study was a causal-comparative design. The statistical population included all male students of public high schools (first and second periods) in the west of Tehran in 2018-2019. Among them, 328 students were selected using multi-stage sampling method. The study sample was divided into two equal groups of students with and without substance-dependent parents. Participants completed the Achenbach system of empirically based assessment (self-assessment form) and the self-concept scale. Also, the GPA of the final evaluation scores of the first round was used to assess academic achievement. Data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and post hoc test. Results: The results showed that students with substance-dependent parents had significantly higher scores in the field of emotional-behavioral disorders, negative self-concept and poor academic achievement compared to students without substance-dependent parents. Conclusion: It seems that substance-dependent parents cause emotional-behavioral disorders, negative self-concept and poor academic achievement in their children.