Nurses: Who came from a dysfuntional family?

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Specializes in Geriatrics/Family Practice.

I am just curious as to how many of us came from a dysfunctional family. When I say dysfunctional, I mean children of alcholics, drug addicts, mental illness, child abuse whether it be physical or emotional. I read years ago that 75% of all nurses come from this type of environment. Is it true? Let me be the first to say "Yes"

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Depends on what you mean by alcoholics: practicing, or history of? My father is an alcoholic but he got sober when I was a baby so I never saw him drink.

Mental illness: my mother, I firmly believe, would be diagnosed as clinically depressed if she would ever seek help, but she's worked at never letting it get the best of her.

In spite of those two, my brother and I grew up in a very loving home.

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Specializes in Geriatrics/Family Practice.

I'm just curious as to how many of us come from a dysfunctional family. When I say dysfunctional I mean children of alcoholics, drug addicts, mental illness, or physical or emotional abuse. I read a study years ago that said 75% of nurses come from a dysfunctional family. Is this true? Let me be the first to say I fit into that study, do you?

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Didn't we all??

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Specializes in Geriatrics/Family Practice.

TazziRn do you know how to merge my two threads. For some reason it duplicated. Or does anyone know how. Oops, sorry!

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Specializes in LTC.

Yup.. dysfunction personified

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Specializes in Geriatrics.

true for me

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Specializes in CCU,ICU,ER retired.

Dad is a recovering alcoholic, Mom was drug addict. I am a recpvering addict 2 of my kids were addicts and one is alanon so I guess thats a big whopping yes

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Specializes in Cardiac Stepdown and CVSICU.

it depends on your definition of dysfunctional....being adopted i can say no; however, i know that my biological parents were totally dysfunctional and having extra marital affairs, resulting in my birth....but i don't think that effected my choice to become a nurse...

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I'm just curious as to how many of us come from a dysfunctional family. When I say dysfunctional I mean children of alcoholics, drug addicts, mental illness, or physical or emotional abuse. I read a study years ago that said 75% of nurses come from a dysfunctional family. Is this true? Let me be the first to say I fit into that study, do you?

Nope. I don't think I fit. I would say my mom with some clinical depression wouldn't be in the same category as alcoholics and abuse. I have heard that about a lot of nurses, though. Especially children of alcoholics/drug addicts. That they have grown accustomed to taking care of their parents and end up doing that as their profession.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

My father abuses ETOH to this day, and was a crack addict during my early and middle childhood years (between the ages of 4 and 11). Father was also unemployed for several years in a row, so the family survived on my mother's meager income from a solar products factory. I was also neglected at times, since I was left home alone as a 5 and 6 year old for hours at a time. My mother enabled my father's destructive behavior, and they are still married.

I would conclude that my family situation was dysfunctional during my younger years.

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yep, true here, mom had older sister at 15, me at 17, parents divorced right after i came along, and parents have never grown up, they depend on us, not the other way around, raised on welfare, always had to worry about what utility was getting shut off each month, birthday et christmas presents returned because of "needing the money", mom having us buy a piece of gum to get the change from food stamps to buy cigarettes. all that good stuff

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