Parental codependency as a risk factor of forming addictions in children

The deep causes of addictions in children are analyzed. An attempt is made to construct a theoretical model, describing one of the possible psychological mechanisms of parent-child relationship influence on the addiction formation in children. We show that the most important, yet underexplored, characteristic of parents as agents of parenting is their motivation towards the child and its subjective awareness. Evidence is provided that parenting position is determined by a complex interplay of conscious and unconscious motives. The actually operating motives that determine the relationship with children, being addictive by nature, may be displaced or represented in parent’s mind by substitute, socially approved motives. In this case, the parenting obtains elements of addictive behavior of codependent type, creating the conditions for addiction formation in children.

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