How Does Substance Abuse Affect Relationships And The Foundation Of The Family

Family disruptors such as divorce and remarriage also have particular influences on drug use. Older adolescents are greatly affected by divorce and remarriage because the family structure has changed. This tends to make older adolescents look for support systems outside the home. The effects of the change can cause adolescents to seek out positive or negative relationships with peers. Younger adolescents are less affected by family disruptors because they do not have the same opportunities or freedom to look outside the home for support, as do older adolescents

The effects of drug addiction make up an infinite list but its greatest effect is on the brain. Drug addicts experiment with substance abuse depending on the side effects of the drug used. If the drug is an opioid or painkiller, then the subject might be in a sleepy and stoic state. If it was a catalyst then the person is going to exhibit an excited and emotional behavior (i.e. talking a lot, laughing at nothing, babbling, and going through extreme emotion changes.) Depending on the type of drug the subject might even experience hallucinations that can cause them to even commit suicide (“Gwinnell, Esther, and Christine Adamec”). Some superficial indicators that a person is abusing these types of substances are bloodshot eyes, rapid weight lost, needle tracks, runny nose, and even poor personal hygiene. The side effects of drug abuse, as previously mentioned are magnified when it comes to the family. If the abuser is one or both of the parents/ guardians, the child might end up being mistreated and/or not taken care of. Furthermore, if the mother is pregnant, the baby might be born premature or underweight, have mental or physical problems, or have a disruptive later on in life.

Growing up in the household under substances influence can cause severe damage to the child. Parental substance abuse has a significant impact on family function, and it may also contribute to child maltreatment. It heightens the risks to both of the physical and emotional safety of the children, and it generates children’s problematic outcomes. Children who grow up in such families may also experience mental health issues, social isolation, financial difficulties, and exposure to stressful life events and so on.

Children of substance abusers are also less likely to bond with their parents, in our case this is from both of them feeling abandoned by me. This can potentially lead them to have trouble trusting other people, learning from others, understanding others' emotions, feeling empathy or remorse; they have trouble maintaining relationships and also show a lack of self confidence. I see all of these characteristics in both of my boys, some more than others. I have been in recovery for several years now

Persistent substance abuse among youth is often accompanied by an array of problems, including academic difficulties, health-related consequences, poor peer relationships, mental health issues, and involvement with the juvenile justice system. There are also significant consequences for family members, the community, and society in

Substance abuse is an issue that continues to grow in America at an alarming rate. Families are an important factor for the onset of substance abuse as well as the sustainment of the addiction (Gruber & Taylor, 2006). The National Institute of Drug Abuse defines substance abuse as “A chronic disease characterized by drug seeking and use that is compulsive, or difficult to control, despite harmful consequences” (“Understanding Drug Use and Addiction,” 2016). In order to prevent relapse, success is found in the formation of familial and social relationships (Baharudin et al., 2014). Substance abuse is a major stressor in the family system and it not only impacts the family’s relationships with those outside of the family but

Watching A Mother's Desperation and The Adolescent Addict, I noticed that both parents said that at first they would get upset and their child would lash out at them, than go find their drug of choice. Living with someone else’s addiction puts the family under unusual stress. Normal routines are constantly being interrupted by unexpected events or frightening kinds of experiences. The family has to keep track of what is going on all the time because there is no trust, the child steals and will do whatever they need to do to get their drug of choice. For the parents and even siblings it has to be draining, heartbreaking, nerve-racking and even scary because you do not know if your child will come home or even wake up in the morning. My opinion

This is how? Families in the States of America are viewed as the basic source of strength, providing nurturance as well as the support for its individual members while ensuring stability and generational continuity for the community versus its culture. The sense of rapid social, economic and political change turns to affect the family and reduces their sense of the relationship between people, groups, and even places. According to research, stability of relationships, expectations, as well as the environment which is a very powerful force that helps people to manage their lives, most especially the young adults and the children. Having said that, classical issues of balancing discipline and control of children with the support, which encourages them to explore and understand the world may be complicated by abusing the use of alcohol and drugs as well as a wide range of other conditions (unodc.org). In other words, family experience with and parental attitudes towards alcohol and other drug use affect a child’s likelihood of developing alcohol and other drug problems. Also, the act of poor management, lack of family bonding, poor monitoring of a child’s behavior and that of physical abuse and or neglect are possible risk factors that allowed or give room for

A person, especially a parent, who is dependent on alcohol or drugs destroys a family because family members not only see how miserable the addicted really are, but they also witness, firsthand, the way substance abuse can deteriorate a person’s physical and mental body, as well as the fact that family members notice the money that is spent on the abused substances, which sometimes leaves families living in poverty for no reason other than the simple fact the addict has to have their fix. Addicts are the destroyers of happiness, self-worth, and any amount of money.

The article that I chose from Nissen’s bibliography article is the role of family in preventing and intervening with substance use and misuse and family interventions that focus on young people. The article talks about how families plays a key part in helping prevent substance abuse and misuse by both promoting and encouraging safety and resilience. Young people are prone to become involved with drugs and not only harm themselves but their families as well. In the United States 12 percent of people in the population aged 12-17, have used some type of illicit drugs (Vellememan, Templeton & Copello, 2004). Young people are easily influenced into the use and misuse of substance abuse. When the child has a close family bond and a positive relationship with family, that closeness has been found to discourage their choices to try drugs and alcohol through positive reinforcements within the family structure. There is evidence that children who are from single parent

Drug abuse is thought to be a multidetermined, maladaptive way of coping with life problems that often become habitual and leads to a progressive deterioration in life circumstances. Drug abuse is a disease in its own way. It’s damaging, mentally, physically and emotionally with each party involved. When it comes to each party involved that also means family members as well. Youth will find a way to but some sort of blame of the family for their drug addiction. Family members can be a crucial part or a great aspect of the therapy depending the situation or how important that family member plays a role in their life. Family plays an important role in our emotional development since each individual in the family system impacts and its impacted by the others. Its design to address issues that affect the health of family and the addict’s life transition or mental health conditions.

In reading chapters four and five of the textbook “Substance Abuse and the Family” I found a couple of things that caught my interest. In chapter four, the middle phrase of an alcoholic family is discussed on page 58, regulatory behaviors of the family enabling whatever use of alcohol is occurring hiding and maintaining for others not to see the alcoholism. The children are usually pressured not to talk about the situation at school, work, etc. I have seen parents threaten their children if they were to tell, saying things like “ if you tell they will take us away from you forever and it will be your fault” or “ if you tell punishment will be sure to follow”. Therefore, the family must endure the negative impacts of an alcoholic parent falling

The substance abuse of a parent has a lasting and apparent effect on all young children. There are a number of substances that can become a problem in people’s lives, including but not limited to; marijuana, alcohol, stimulants, depressants, narcotics, hallucinogens and inhalants. Drugs critically affect the individual taking them, but also affect the members of the household, especially children. Not only does the person’s addiction emotionally, mentally, and physically affect the individual lives of other members of the family, but it tears apart relationships between the families. Arguments, disagreements, violence, and stress can derive from the abuse of drugs because of the tension it puts on one’s other members of the family.

How Does Substance Abuse Affect the Family Unit? A Closer Look at What the Implications are and Treatment Options.

One of the most devastating side effects of drug addiction and abuse is depression. Depression is the result of chemical imbalance, environmental influence, or a combination of both. Using heavy and very highly addictive drugs as heroin, cocaine, opium and many other will cause sudden mood changes, deterioration of the immune system, nervous breakdowns, unusual flares of temper and many other side effects. Besides physical side effects, drug addiction can create problems in a person's social circles. The person may run into many conflicts with his family and friends, resulting in desire for isolation. This in turn will create more problems since the person will have no social support. Furthermore, drug addiction is a financial strain especially for teenagers. When a person is addicted to drugs he will do anything to obtain money to fulfill his needs.