Alcoholism and drug addiction have obvious and well documented effects on the substance abusers. Prolonged abuse of drugs and/or alcohol will damage a person’s physical health, impair his or her mental functioning and damage the spirit. But how will these adverse effects impact the addict’s immediate family, and how will the damage manifest itself?
Every single person in an addict’s immediate family is affected in some way by the individual’s substance abuse. In recent years, our society has moved further away from the traditional nuclear family. There are single-parent homes and blended family homes. Each of these family structures and more will affect the addict’s overall impact on the family. If young children are a part of the family, their
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They have been spending any money they can get on to score more drugs, funding their habit and causing their family to go broke. They can easily spend hundreds, if not thousands of dollars fueling their drug habit in as little as one day or a short binge. Their addiction to drugs may be so severe that they are no longer able to function in the workplace, causing them to lose their job. These creates a bigger burden on your spouse or partner as they are then required to solely provide and care for the rest of the family, as well as for the addict. Far too many families have been faced with the decision of bankruptcy, foreclosure, losing their life’s savings, retirement savings due to their loved one addiction. It is a lot worse for people in poverty, because usually the cost of the substance could be worth what they earn. It can also cause trouble with the law costing hundreds and maybe thousands of dollars. In the article (Financial and Legal Consequences of Drug Abuse)” The government regulates addictive substances in an effort to reduce access to harmful drugs and preserve the health of its people. More than 46 percent –almost half—of federal arrests in the United States are on drug-related charges. An arrest like this most often leads to significant jail time, probation and a series of legal consequences that follow you permanently throughout life”.
The book I chose to read for this assignment is called “Stay Close: A Mother’s Story of Her Son’s Addiction”. The target audience can be parents, adolescents, recovering addicts, college students and mental health professionals.
Chan, J. G. (2003). An Examination of Family-Involved Approaches to Alcoholism Treatment. Family Journal, 11(2), 129-138. doi:10.1177/1066480702250149
Sharma, R. (2016). Role of Family relationship in child rearing of drug addiction afflicted vs normal families. Indian Journal Of Health & Wellbeing, 7(8),
Substance disorders affects all social, educational, cultural, and age groups. Substance abuse research often focusses on the abuser and the family as a whole but not how it affects their spouse. United States misuse is linked to approximately 590,000 deaths and is responsible for injury or illness to almost 40 million individuals every year. (Cox, R., Ketner, J. & Blow, A. 2013). The consequences resulted from this disorder, are not only related to the substance abusers, but also have a great influence on their behavior and other layers of their life, especially their wives (Salehyan, Bigdeli, & Hashemian 2011). When the husband or boyfriend has an addiction the wife takes on responsibilities of her spouse which causes an increase in stress. Marriage is generally described as a protective factor against substance use. The concept of codependency was developed to explain what happens to the spouse of a substance abuser.
Alcohol abuse can potentially lead to major health risks, “It can cause damage to the liver, brain, and other organs” (Medline Plus). Alcoholism is an issue that affects a great number of people. According to Medline Plus, “…about 18 million adult Americans have an alcohol use disorder (AUD)” (Medline Plus). When considering these figures only represent the adult population as well as only including the adults in the US, it is apparent that the issue is widespread. Not only does it affect the person but also those around them. Unfortunately many times it affects other members of their family the most. According to American Addiction Centers, “As a general rule, these people have a greater likelihood of having emotional troubles compared to children who grew up in sober homes”. This suggests that the children of the people who suffer from alcoholism are affected to a great extent on an emotional level. As stated by American Addiction Centers, “In general, children of individuals who abuse alcohol are four times more likely to abuse alcohol themselves”, which would then only further the cycle of alcohol
Equally important, therapy for parents with children who abuse drugs, participate in treatment interventions in a therapeutic setting with the Family Therapy Model, using Cognitive Behavior Therapy or CBT. The main goal of CBT is to improve family relationships by promoting sobriety and correcting the erratic or destructive behaviors/patterns, which aid in a person’s addiction. The goal is to educate family members about triggers, in the event of a relapse or erratic behaviors that resurface. In the event, families can resolve conflict in a positive way and recognize future erratic behaviors, before it's too late. Nevertheless, the Strategic family therapy is the best option, for Ryan and his family because of the relationship and separation
In the United States alone, there are 28 million children of alcoholics - seven million of these children are under the age of eighteen. Every day, these children experience the horrors of living with an alcoholic parent. 40%-50% of children of alcoholics grow up and become alcoholics themselves. Others develop eating disorders or become workaholics. Children of alcoholics receive mixed messages, inconsistency, upredictability, betrayal, and sometimes physical and sexual abuse from their parents. They are made to grow up too fast because they must help keep the family structure together by doing housework and taking care of siblings since the alcoholic is not doing his or her part. Children form roles that they play to help disguise the disease. The roles help distract people from seeing the real problem and serve to protect the family so it can continue to function. There are five roles that the family members will take on-- the enabler, the hero, the scapegoat, the lost child, and the mascot.
The crippling effects of alcoholism and drug dependency are not confined to the addict alone. The family suffers, physically and emotionally, and it is the children who are the most disastrous victims. Frequently neglected and abused, they lack the maturity to combat the terrifying destructiveness of the addict’s behavior. As adults these individuals may become compulsively attracted to the same lifestyle as their parents, excessive alcohol and drug abuse, destructive relationships, antisocial behavior, and find themselves in an infinite loop of feelings of emptiness, futility, and despair. Behind the appearance of calm and success, Adult Children of Alcoholics often bear a sad, melancholy and haunted look that betrays their quietest confidence. In the chilling silence of the darkest nights of their souls, they yearn for intimacy: their greatest longing, and deepest fear. Their creeping terror lives as the child of years of emotional, and sometimes physical, family violence.
Many children that are in these family situations may end up in foster care due to their parent’s inability to properly care for them due to their addictions. If children grow up in families, with issues such as these, it will most likely affect them throughout the remainder of their
Being a parent is not easy work, so I’ve heard, you have young minds watching your every move wanting to be like you and learning what is right and wrong. Inappropriate drug users don’t make very good parents, granted there are a few that do, the child is left unattended or if the child is around the user the young mind adapts to the seen behavior. The child grows up and now society has another drug user, maybe not to the same degree, to watch after. Children of today are tomorrows adult’s parents are ideal on how the future generations
Main Point: The effects on a person after they become addicted to something can be small, or they can be great, depending on the length of time they are exposed to the addictive behavior or substance and what caused it. The addiction affects the addict’s health, career and relationships. I can tell you from personal experience with having family members who were addicts, that I was traumatized growing up. (Personal story about couple arguing here.) According to Roxanne Edwards of Medicine.net, “In terms of effects on the body, intoxication with a substance can cause physical effects that range from marked sleepiness and slowed breathing …to the rapid heart rate...” In addition, psychologically they can have suicidal thoughts or elation depending on the addictive substance or behavior. This is why it is important for the addict to seek help because they cannot get rid of the issue on their own. Most of the time, addicts go through some sort of rehab treatment and when they are released they are instructed to go to meetings that help with the aftermath of addiction. Just a few of these groups are places like Alcoholics/Narcotics Anonymous, or even Celebrate Recovery. Although some places believe that these programs do not work, it is well worth mentioning that the success rates depend on the want to of the person working them. They have to want to remain sober or free from the addiction or they will go right back to it. Alcohol Rehab.com puts it this way, “Failure to
Latham, P.K., & Napier, T.L. (1992). Psychosocial consequences of alcohol misuse in the family of origin. The International Journal of the Addictions, 27, 1137-1158.
Families in society today encounter a number of factors that make it difficult to have the “traditional American family”. Many families have grandparents acting as parents, single mother homes, and adolescents that are struggling with addiction and behavioral issues. Families are extremely affected by addiction and alcoholism and family therapy can play a major role in assisting the affected family members. Many marriages end in divorce and children inherit the disease of addiction. Alcoholism is a silent killer of the American family dream. Some of the issues linked with alcoholism in the family arebehavioral issues with family members,mental health issues within the family, and effects of alcoholism on the children.
Drug abuse dates as far back as the Biblical era, so it is not a new phenomenon. “The emotional and social damage and the devastation linked to drugs and their use is immeasurable.” The ripple of subversive and detrimental consequences from alcoholism, drug addictions, and addictive behavior is appalling. Among the long list of effects is lost productivity, anxiety, depression, increased crime rate, probable incarceration, frequent illness, and premature death. The limitless consequences include the destruction to personal development, relationships, and families (Henderson 1-2). “Understandably, Americans consider drug abuse to be one of the most serious problems” in the fabric of society. And although “addiction is the result of voluntary drug use, addiction is no longer voluntary behavior, it’s uncontrollable behavior,” says Alan Leshner, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (Torr 12-13).
At household levels, the drug users usually divert the income meant for the family’s upkeep for purchasing drugs (Barnard, 2007). Also, junior members of the family who abuse drugs tend to commit crimes that may force the relatives to pay for the expenses. The living standard of the family is; therefore, affected leading to unnecessary suffering.