Drug addiction is destructive and insidious, not just in terms of its effect on the addict but for the suffering it inflicts on the loved ones and family. Though the addict may have no conscious intention of harming his companions and relatives, his self-destructive actions are a source of anguish for anyone with genuine affection for him or concern for his well-being.
Spousal Codependence
The partners of addicts sometimes respond by trying to hide the addict's behavior from family members, employers and the general public. This obsessive type of caretaking behavior is known as codependence. Codependent partners will make up excuses for the addict's work absences or car accidents, clean up the legal messes resulting from an addict's criminal behavior, and work long hours to make up for the financial shortfalls resulting from a partner's addiction.
Codependence is problematic in that it enables the addict to continue on her destructive path without dealing with its consequences, according to the World Health Organization. Codependent people often neglect their own needs and happiness in an endless quest to maintain the appearance of normalcy in the family.
Damage to Children
The Emanuel Children's Healthcare Center has stated that one out of every 10 children in the U.S. is born into a family where drug abuse is present. Children are especially vulnerable to the effects of a parent's addiction, as they most often have no way of escaping the damaging environment or protecting themselves from abuse at the hands of an addicted family member.
The WHO has determined that children born to alcohol-addicted parents are often forced to participate in parental fights, are subject to fears about parental job loss and ensuing poverty and are often put in the position of having to take care of an alcoholic parent at a very young age. An alcoholic parent can cause serious harm to the child's psychological growth and development. An alcoholic mother can inflict damage on her child even before it is born. Fetal alcohol syndrome affects 25 to 35 percent of children born to alcoholic mothers and causes facial deformities and mental retardation.
Domestic Abuse
Addiction contributes to elevated levels of intrapersonal conflict, spousal abuse and child abuse in the families of alcoholics. The alcoholic's behavior has been shown to "impose profound suffering" on family members, according to the Minas Gerais Federal University School of Nursing. Alcohol and other drugs are a frequent factor in domestic violence among families of every demographic and socioeconomic level, according to the WHO.
Divorce
Families impacted by addiction are more likely to experience divorce. When an addict's behavior poses a serious threat to the physical and emotional well-being of family members and all other methods of dealing with the addiction have failed, the addict's spouse may see no other recourse than to abandon the relationship, most often, taking any children with her. The final effect of drug addiction on the family could be that the addict no longer has a family at all.
