How Substance Abuse Affect The Family Unit Essay

There is no existence of a perfect family system within the realms of human nature. In fact, it is common place for struggles to be encountered and as such through strife comes growth. Granted this pertains to the typical life occurrences, as unexpected deaths, employment changes, environmental adjustments, and social influences brought on by sociological shifts. These normally are short lived in comparison to more traumatic events such as substance abuse as an example. The SAMHSA (2004) notes that due to the increasing complexity of the American family, substance abuse differs according to the family structure. This structure is still negatively impacted by substance abuse as it is a progressive change that alters the dynamics of the family system and in turn dramatically affects the whole of that family. There is no mistake that the disease of addiction affects the family system deeply, changes the roles of the individual family members to suit the addict and can be an attributing factor of domestic violence.

Gruber, K.J., & Taylor M.F. (2006). A family perspective for substance abuse: Implications from the literature. Journal of Social

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.

Chemical dependency or rather drug abuse can bring an adverse change in the relationships with family and loved ones. Addictions affect chemicals in the brain which may lead to a change in the behavior of the drug abuser. Chemical dependants need help from outside so that they can recognize that they have an addiction problem as well as remaining sober from the substance. This paper discusses the issue of chemical dependency and the family. It will look at the various appropriate measures of intervention for addictive families. It will also look at the barriers that are associated with educating families and how they can be overcome. Secondly there will be identification of family behaviors that can cause harm and not help the addict. Finally the issue of how family members can negatively impact treatment outcomes will also be looked at.

Although all sorts of families can be devastated by addiction, but single parent units (the most common lower class structure) are the most obscured. Behavioral Health of the Palm Beaches supports, “In every family unit, each person plays a role (or multiple roles) to help the family function better and to maintain a level of homeostasis, stability and balance. When substance abuse is added to this dynamic, the family roles naturally shift to adjust to the new behaviors associated with drug or alcohol use, and to continue maintaining order and balance.”4 In single parent units there is an inability of a second parent to fill the void role of the addicted parent. The National Center for Biotechnology Information states, “Frequently, children may act as surrogate spouses for the parent who abuses substances. For example, [young] children may develop elaborate systems of denial to protect themselves against that reality of the parent’s addiction. Because that option does not exist in a single‐parent household with a parent who abuses substances, children are likely to behave in a manner that is not age‐appropriate to compensate for the parental deficiency.”2 So a child growing up in a compromised family unit where addiction is present may develop altered norms and mature into an addict themselves.4

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 crippling effects of alcoholism and drug dependency are not confined to the addict alone. The family suffers,

The prevalence of alcohol abuse/substance abuse is on the rise today. One of the biggest challenges facing our society today is dealing with the effects of alcohol/substance abuse in families. One can ascertain that alcohol/substance abuse can destroy not only an individual, but a whole family and even a whole community in general. This is a dangerous phenomenon that has made its way into many homes, leaving families shattered, hurt and left with nothing but anger.

In 2009, more than eight million children in the United States resided in households where their primary caregiver was dependent on substance use (HHS, 2009). Substance Use disorder (SA) is defined as exhibiting one or more of the four criteria while consuming alcohol or illicit drugs: failure to fulfill major role obligations at work, school, or home, situations in which it is physically hazardous, situations persistent substance-related legal problems, social or interpersonal problems caused by or exacerbated by the effects of the substance (American Psychiatric Association, 2005). One out of four children affected by SA will develop psychological, physical, and social health complications, and a tenth

Addiction has been an aspect in the family atmosphere for centuries. The majority of treatment options have focused on the addict and how to help them and not dealing with the issues that the family members are facing as well. When families are faced with a loved one dealing with an addiction they go through physical challenges such as possible abuse, social challenges, emotional distress such as depression, and financial hardships. In the article Family Systems Theory: A Unifying Framework For Codependence, Prest and Protinsky quote C. Whitfield “ The compulsive and addictive behavioral patterns in which these people are engaged seriously affect the lives of three to five people with whom they are closely

Attachment, nurturing, and socialization is the foundation that holds together any family. However, substance use disorders (SUDs) impact individuals and their family members which requires a great deal of responsiveness at the very start of the disorder. Whether it’s directly or indirectly, everyone in the family is affected by the individual that abuses the substance. The family member(s) can be affected by the individual through developmental, emotional, attachment, and violence. Approximately, 3 million reports of child abuse are reported every year and of that 899,000 are reported victims due to substance abuse. Children are a product of their environment and in many cases they are at risk of becoming the abuser themselves.

Research question: How does drug abuse impact family members? Barnard, M (2007). Drug Addiction and Families. Retrieved from: http://web.b.ebscohost.com.library.sheridanc.on.ca/ehost/ebookviewer/ebook/bmxlYmtfXzE4MDQ2NV9fQU41?sid=92164d9f-4cd4-4f66-90db-6fca650d41c2@sessionmgr102&vid=0&format=EB&rid=1 This online

Substance abuse disorders are significant public health concerns and rank among the most common psychiatric disorders beginning in young adulthood. Substance abuse is considered low or infrequent doses of alcohol or drugs such that damaging consequences are rare or minor (Child Welfare, 2012). Such abuse can cause social, mental, emotional, and behavioral problems. Although there are numerous studies that discuss issues of substance abuse, there is a lack of response towards childhood development impacted by parental substance use disorder (PSUD). PSUD impacts the child’s physical, psychological, social, and behavioral development. Based on data from 2002 to 2007, approximately 7.3 million children lived with a parent who was dependent on or abused alcohol and about 2.2 million lived with a parent who was dependent on or abused illicit drugs (SAMSHA, 2009).

It is estimated that the number of adults, in the United States, who abuse alcohol or are alcohol dependent is approximates 17.6 million, or 8.46 percent of adults (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2015). These statistics present a primary health concern (Hart & Kisr, 2013). Still yet, an additional concern is warranted because of the family influences on the development of problems with alcohol and the risk for family members developing alcoholism—and other mental or behavioral issues (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 2005). Evidence points to problems with alcohol that are associated with various family factors, such as spousal and parental use, use by children, family principles and attitudes about alcohol consumption, dynamics of family and patterns of relationship, and interplay of alcohol with biological and genetic factors (NIAAA, 2005).

The purpose of the study is to assess the effects that parental substance abuse has on the problematic and adaptive behaviors of young children. Parental substance abuse is a delicate topic that some people do not enjoy talking about. Many children are affected by the negative actions that their parents are committing. The 2009 National Survey on Drug use and Health (NSDUH) showed that little over 8.3 million children under the age of 18 have lived with at least one parent who abused illicit drugs or alcohol during the year prior to being interviewed for the survey. Parental substance abuse is a major health concern that impacts not only the parent, but also the children and any other family members. According to S. Price, C. Price,