Introduction
In 2013 the American Psychiatric Association (APA) published a new version of their handbook of classification of mental disorders. The Diagnostic and Statistic Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition (DSM-5) sets forth the criteria used by mental health professionals in the United States to classify and diagnose any psychiatric disorder recognized within the US health care system. Substance use disorder is assessed and diagnosed on a continuum from mild to moderate to severe, with each substance classified as a separate disorder (alcohol use disorder, opiate use disorder, stimulant use disorder, and so on). A diagnosis of substance use disorder is used when the recurrent and repeated use of drugs and/or alcohol causes impairment such as failure to meet responsibilities at work, school, or home; physical or mental disability; and/or health problems. Furthermore, evidence of impairment of control or social impairment and/or risky or potentially life threatening behavior are additional indications that a diagnosis of substance use disorder would be appropriate.
Alcohol and substance abuse during pregnancy has been definitively proven to be detrimental to the fetus. In addition to the well-documented damages caused by fetal alcohol syndrome, both alcohol and drug abuse place the fetus at risk for intrauterine growth retardation, higher susceptibility for infectious disease before birth, and of being physically dependent on a substance at birth, requiring medical detoxification before the baby is able to leave the hospital setting.
Children who are reared by a parent or parents with substance use disorder have been shown to have impaired cognitive and social development skills, slowed learning skills, and a wide range of mental health problems, including depression and anxiety.
Alcohol Abuse
Data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration indicate that more than eight million children under the age of eighteen in the United States were living with a substance abusing parent and that approximately 10 percent of all children born in the United States were exposed to drugs or alcohol prenatally.
Young children of alcoholics are habitually given less attention than the alcohol itself by their parents. This leads to low self-esteem and decreased self-worth in the children, fostering fears of helplessness and abandonment.
The mood swings and erratic behavior of alcoholic parents also can lead to stress-induced nightmares, paranoia, and bedwetting in young children. Young children of alcoholics also are placed at a much higher risk of injuries, which result from inadequate supervision in the home or vehicular accidents caused by alcohol-impaired drivers.
Instances of incest and domestic violence also occur with considerably higher frequency in families in which alcoholism is prevalent. Because young children are poorly equipped to handle the emotional trauma that results from these incidents, they are at higher risk of lifelong psychological and mental disorders, including anxiety and depression.
The general alienation by and mistrust of adults also can lead young children into deviant behavior at school and in their community. This mistrust acts as a barrier for the children of alcoholic parents to seek solace or support from other adults, both outside the home and within their immediate families. The inability to relate and the lack of understanding in interactions with children from households unaffected by alcoholism also can lead to anger, hostility, and erratic behavior in peer interactions. This leads to further isolation and social abandonment.
Drug Abuse
Parental drug abuse is equally hazardous to the health and proper development of children as is parental alcohol abuse. As with abusive alcohol use, the number of potential prenatal dangers is lengthy and widely documented by medical research.
Pregnant women who use drugs, particularly those who ingest drugs intravenously, risk exposing the fetus to infectious disease. Severe brain damage, stroke, low birth weight, and organ failure are also common problems associated with prenatal use of illicit drugs. Additionally, newborn children of addicted individuals are at high risk for being born addicted to the drugs their mother ingested. The newborn must then be detoxed safely from the substance before being released to a family member or the department of social services.
Maltreatment such as sexual abuse and battery and habitual periods of neglect are of higher prevalence in families with one or more drug-using parent. The lack of structure and routine in the lives of children of substance abusers can also lead children to lash out at school and at day care.
While alcohol can be acquired legally and is readily available, controlled substances must be obtained through illicit trans-actions, often in environments that are unsuitable or unsafe for children. These environments include violent and crime-ridden neighborhoods.
Children of drug abusers are frequently exposed to these dangerous environments or experience lengthy periods of neglect in their own home while their parents seek the drugs. Lengthy neglect is particularly challenging for the older siblings of young children, who often have the responsibility of parenting their younger siblings when they are themselves lacking in the proper emotional, physical, and psychological abilities to navigate everyday life.
Similarly, children preoccupied with concern for their drug-abusing parents place education at a lower priority, resulting in less-than-adequate academic development and achievement. Shame, mistrust, and fear also hinder the children of drug-abusing parents. The children have trouble building trusting relationships both with their own peers and with adults, which further perpetuates feelings of isolation and helplessness.
Troubled Adulthoods
Children raised in drug-free homes or by parents with normative behaviors toward drugs and alcohol may experiment with such substances themselves. Children of substance-abusing parents, however, are raised in an environment that models alcohol and drug use as ways to cope with stress, anger, pain, or a host of other negative emotions. Many children of addicts resort to the use of drugs and alcohol to ease the psychological and emotional pains of childhood, or they simply view such behavior as normal, leaving them vulnerable to abuse themselves.
a history of abuse of other types of drugs and the presence of a mood or anxiety disorders.
Although there is little evidence to prove a genetic predisposition to illicit drug use, a large body of evidence exists to show a genetic connection between alcoholism in the children of alcoholic parents. According to the National Association of Children of Alcoholics (NACA), biological children of alcohol-dependent parents are four times as likely to become alcoholics themselves.
Children of substance abusers face difficult circumstances even if they manage to avoid the patterns of alcoholism and drug use demonstrated by their parents. Academic underachievement is common among children of substance abusers. These children repeatedly underperform on all standardized tests measuring academic skills, such as reading comprehension and mathematics. In one study reported by the NACA, 41 percent of children with drug- or alcohol-abusing parents repeat an academic grade because of poor performance or lagging academic comprehension. This lack of academic preparedness leaves children of substance abusers with fewer skills, interests, and motivations to apply toward careers and hobbies as adults.
The cyclical nature of damaging, abusive, and neglectful childhoods is perhaps the most severe consequence of substance abuse on parenting. Substance abuse can affect families for several generations. Early education on the dangers of alcohol abuse and illicit drug use has become a key tool in addressing the problem in the United States. Also critical is the establishment of effective outreach and social programs in which at-risk children can communicate about abusive behaviors and harmful home environments and can find support from their school or community.
Bibliography
Black, Claudia. It Will Never Happen to Me: Growing Up with Addiction as Youngsters, Adolescents, Adults. Center City: Hazelden, 2013. Print.
Brouwer, Thomas P. Parents with Substance Use Disorders and Child Protection Issues. Hauppauge: Nova Science, 2011. Print.
Calhoun, Stacy, et al. "Improving the Outcomes of Children Affected by Parental Substance Abuse: A Review of Randomized Controlled Trials." Substance Abuse and Rehabilitation 6 (2015): 15–24. Print.
“Children of Addicted Parents: Important Facts.” NACOA. National Association for Children of Alcoholics, n.d. Web. 5 Nov. 2015. PDF file.
“Children Living with Substance-Dependent or Substance-Abusing Parents: 2002 to 2007.” National Survey on Drug Use and Health. 16 Apr. 2009. Web. 20 Apr. 2012.
"Effects of Parental Substance Abuse on Children and Families." AAETS. American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress, 2014. Web. 2 Nov. 2015.
Sims, Armethia L. “A Substance Abuse Prevention Guide for Parents / Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program, Ann Arbor Public Schools.” DocPlayer. DocPlayer, 2006. Web. 20 Apr. 2012.
No comments:
Post a Comment