Long Term Effects of Children of Addictive Parents

Growing up with substance abuse parents can potentially put the children at risk for developmental deficiencies. Parents who are substance dependent are oftentimes focus on themselves over their children, and this leads to neglecting the children. Without the attachment with the parents, children are lack of security and trust to explore the outside world. According to Erik Erikson, children develop at different stage. Infants are totally dependent on their parents. If parents provide the good care and support to the children, they will develop the basic trust to their parents and the world, otherwise, they will feel insecure and develop mistrust instead. This mistrust may cause problems later in life. As children begin to grow and navigate the challenges of adolescence, parental substance abuse has a direct impact on their well-being, as well as their behavior. Teenagers are eager to seek their identities. Yet, growing up with mistrust, inferiority, and shame

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

Psychodynamic theorists explain the causes or substance abuse as related to dependency issues dating back to early childhood. This view claims that a when parents fail to satisfy a young child’s need for nurturance the child will grow to be highly dependent on others 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.

Research indicates that children exposed to parental substance use are at increased risk for exposure to trauma and neglect (Kandel, 1990), linking with an increased risk for later developing SUDs (Mills, Teesson, Ross, & Peters, 2006 as cited in Khoury et al., 2010). Yet, as previously stated there is little research to show the modifying affects that treatment and recovery can have on the children of substance abusers.

Over the years comprehensive research has been accomplished and has determined that children raised by substance using parents are at an increased risk for developing substance use disorders (SUDs) in adulthood as a result of familial dissemination of substance abuse through both the environments in which the children are raised and genetic susceptibility (Merikangas et al., 1998; Merikangas & Avenevoli, 2000). Unfortunately, there is an insignificant amount of literature examining the effects that the combined treatment and recovery of substance abusing parents has on the affected children.

The Psychodynamic View suggests that those with substance abuse problems have strong dependency issues that can be traced to their early years. They also directly suggest that when parents fail to provide nurturance, love, and stability, which this can urge the child to find other means to provide these items as they grow. Drugs can provide a means for comfort, even if only temporary and they can provide a source of constant companionship in the mind of a substance abuser. In the case of this book, he describes drugs as being his way to stop thinking about his mother and father, and even though he did not like the anxiety and constant need for them, they were his "companion" and never let him down.

Since “parents are a crucial part of their child’s environment” (Sharma, 2016), it is no surprise that their behavior can affect how their children grow up to be. While yes, people who end up addicted to drugs can come from all sorts of lives there are some circumstances that may help to influence a person’s choice to turn to drugs. The likelihood that a person turns to drugs increases if they experience a traumatic event such as sexual, emotional, or physical abuse (Mirlashari, Demirkol, Salsali, Rafiey, & Jahanbani, 2012). Depending on the level of trauma can influence the level of drug addiction a person may have. If a person witnesses’ violence in their family or they are sexually victimized they are more likely to not only use drugs but to turn to hard drugs like

All of these environmental factors also influence adolescent prevalence of substance use disorder. In terms of parental substance abuse, Abu-Shakra and Cox (2014), mention that paternal substance abuse does influence the risk of externalizing behaviours and substance abuse disorders. The authors also mention that “maternal depression increases a child’s risk of depression and increases risk for drug abuse. (Tartter, Mammen, & Brennan, 2014 cited in Abu-Shakra & Cox, 2014). It is also the case that “only maternal substance use consequences were consistently related to adolescent psychopathology” (Ohannessian et al., 2004). That is to say, Ohannessian et al., (2004) suggests that maternal substance use was more indicative of an effect on the adolescents’ psychopathology. In other words, similar to what Abu-Shakra and Cox (2014) are saying, negative parental factors influence the

The child is more likely to become an addict if their parent has substance abuse problems. They may witness cases of domestic violence or be abused. Children and spouses may feel isolated, and economic hardship may become a problem. Alcoholics are also more likely to deal with infidelity, jealousy and divorce in their personal relationships.

“This could mean that addiction is rooted in genetics and might be inherited, but it could also mean that drug abuse could be impacted by environmental factors, such as the family background in which the child was raised and influenced” (Drug Use Hurts Kids 2017). Another problem with kids growing up around drugs could be that they’re not being taken care of the right way. As stated by The National Institute of Drug Abuse, “People with drug problems can forget to take care of the kids. There might not be anyone making meals or helping the kids get washed and dressed. There might not be anyone to buy clothes or do the laundry. There might not be anyone to take the kids to the doctor or help with homework.” (National Institute of Drug Abuse 2017). Unfortunately, kids who grow up in underprivileged homes and neighborhoods are more likely to remain ‘in the system’ then children are born. Children who grow up in an environment where abusing drugs is not only tolerated but accepted can develop a sense of dependability to the drugs they’re around. This creates a whole new generation of drug abusers that, later in life, will continue the cycle all over again.

Along with illegal behavior often a substance abuser will find themselves as homeless, spending their paychecks on their habits of using substances (Tracy, 2005). Children of abusers are affected by both possessing negative role models that set the example that drug use is not wrong and sometimes the children are placed into the care of the community because of neglect and abuse by the substance user (National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Division of Adolescent and School Health [CDC], 2009). Other medical, social, and economic issues also are being experienced from substance abuse and use.

Parental substance abuse impacts a child’s psychological development. According to Livestrong.com “When a child is raised in an environment with substance abuse his or her risk for developing a mental health disorder increases.” (Butler). A serious element of psychological disorders that develop from a parent who abuses drug is severe anxiety disorders or depression. These afflictions in itself are enough to deter even the strongest adult from living a normal life. Depression and anxiety cause a child to withdraw from their friends or siblings, making them feel alone and suffer from suicidal thoughts. Anxiety disorders stemming from parental substance abuse also lead to learning disabilities, causing children to work below their potential. This creates a potentially negative environment for a child, causing them to behave inappropriately which leads to disciplinary actions by the school. One other psychological disorder that stems from parental substance abuse is eating disorders. This comes from the low self-esteem a child suffers and in an attempt to be perfect; a child is willing to bring physical harm to themselves or their bodies. I have seen this to be the greatest side effect of my ex-husband’s drug abuse upon our children. My two boys suffer from depression and anxiety at varying levels. My oldest son has been diagnosed with ulcers from constantly worrying about his father’s sobriety.

Drug addiction is a serious issue in not only America today, but globally. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, substance addiction is a “chronic, relapsing brain disease that is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, despite the harmful consequences” (“What is drug addiction?”). Drug abuse affects not only the user, but those around the user as well. The actions of a drug user place a significant amount of worry on the people that are closest to them such as friends and family. Children with parents who are addicted to drugs or alcohol can be severely affected by the actions of their parents which can cause them much harm in terms of biological and

Children can be subjected to the negative effects of parental substance use in a variety of different ways. For example, substance use during pregancy can cause detrimental outcomes for newborn infants by placing them at a higher risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), being born with birth defects, developing behavioral and developmental delays, being born premature, etc. Children with addicted parents, are placed at a higher risk of: lacking appropriate supervision; lacking basic needs such as: food, clothing, housing, and medical care; exposure to violence; developing substance abuse issues themselves.