About 9 percent of all children live in a home with at least one parent who abuses or is addicted to alcohol or an illicit drug, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, or SAMHSA. When a parent has a drug problem, the entire family also has that drug problem. Exposure to parental drug abuse increases the risk of the child becoming addicted to substances, engaging in delinquent behavior and experiencing myriad problems in life, SAMHSA reports. Children suffer emotionally and socially, while the parent may face child welfare intervention if the drug abuse is reported or recognized by the authorities.
Emotional Effects
Drug abuse often causes unpredictable behavior in the parent. This behavior creates inconsistency in the home and leads to mistrust of the parental relationship as well as mistrust of other adults. The Center on Addiction and the Family explains that the lack of consistent rules in the home also tends to teach the child to disregard and distrust authority figures. A lack of trust in authority can cause delinquency as the child becomes a teen. Additional emotional effects of parental drug abuse include the child becoming insecure and anxious that the drug-using parent may die or feeling shame and guilt that he is causing the parent to use drugs.
School and Social Effects
Children exhibiting poor school performance--working below their potential or an inability to focus--is characteristic of the possible effect of parental drug abuse, notes SAMHSA. Preoccupation with the tension at home as well as taking on the obligation to manage the household or siblings may also hinder the child's education. Socially, children tend to not bring friends home for fear of embarrassment by the intoxicated parent's behavior. The Center on Addiction and the Family notes that children of drug abusers lack basic social skills and avoid making friends. On the other hand, some children use peer relationships as a means for escaping the home stress. Buffered by friends, the child may immerse himself in social activities and take on extensive responsibilities. This may appear functional, however, at some point can also become an overwhelming drive for perfectionism.
Health Effects
According to the Center on Addiction and the Family and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, exposing a child to parental drug abuse can lead to illnesses such as asthma, diseases of the gastrointestinal system and psychiatric disorders. Hope Networks indicates that more than half of children hospitalized for psychiatric disorders come from homes where drugs are abused. SAMHSA suggests that parents engage in candid discussion with children to explain the dangers of substance use on the body and allow the child to ask questions. SAMHSA also indicates a "practice what is preached" forum for the substance-abusing parent will lessen the mixed messages; confusion can perpetuate health problems and increases anxiety.
Statistically, children of substance-addicted parents are three to four times more likely to become addicted to substances if they use drugs or alcohol, further increasing risk for physical health problems, illness or injury, according to the Center on Addiction and the Family.
References
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: Parental Drug Use as Child Abuse
- Center on Addiction and the Family: Effects of Parental Substance Abuse on Children and Families
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration: Parental Substance Abuse at Family Guide
- Center for Substance Abuse Treatment: Alcohol and Drug Abuse Hurts Everyone in the Family
- Hope Networks: Children of Addicted Parents Important Facts
