It is a well known fact that substance abuse has many impacts in society as a whole. Substance abuse does not only affect the user but also the people around them. Those who are closest to the user are his or her family. Substance abuse affects those around the users both mentally and physically (Children and Youth Health, 2006). This paper will attempt to discuss how substance abuse destroys the family fabric in society and how family relationships are destroyed by parents who practice substance abuse.
Statistics show that one out of ten Americans struggle with dependence on drugs most of whom are highly dependent on alcohol. In most cases of substance abuse, those closest to the user meaning the family make it possible for the abuser of the substance to continue with his/her behaviors. They do this in a number of ways: by providing money to the dependent who uses it to purchase the drug, taking care of the dependent instead of making him face up to his/her addiction (Children and Youth Health, 2006).
Drug abuse causes many families to fall apart. Drug abuse stigmatizes many families this results in families living in isolation due to embarrassment and shame. Some families deny the existence of a problem and act as if drug abuse is part of the norm. Drug abuse causes increased stress to the family; this is because families feel responsible for the dependent. They constantly have to take care of the dependent and cope with his/her behaviors (Children and Youth Health, 2006). Drugs cause family conflict and tension among family members.
This may lead to violence, in most cases where the father or mother is the dependent on drug feuds and fights are usually inevitable. The children may be affected physically, in the case where they are beaten or psychologically due to the trauma of watching their parents in constant fights. The children often grow up thinking that drug abuse is not harmful and is part of the norm (Children and Youth Health, 2006). Substance abuse also leads to lack of trust among family members. Trust mostly comes into play when money is involved.
In cases where one of the children is an addict, the parents cannot trust him/her with money. Drug addicts often lie in order to get what they want, so when an addict says he/she needs something no one believes him/her (Children and Youth Health, 2006). In cases where both parents are alcoholics, the children are the ones who suffer most. The children are brought up in an inconsistent, frenzied and disorganized environment; they lack routines and adequate supervision which are both very essential in the upbringing of children.
Children of drug addicts will most likely end up taking drugs themselves. This is because children often take after their parent’s behaviors. Children are also exposed to violence by their parents (Children and Youth Health, 2006). According to research, 1/3 of children of alcoholics grow up to practice substance abuse or develop a relationship with somebody who struggles with alcohol addiction. Many of these children have difficulty conveying their feelings, develop poor communication proficiency, and suffer from identity crisis and feel overly responsible.
They are also at a higher risk of developing mental health complications. The earlier and more frequent that the intake of substances is done, the higher the likelihood of prolonged usage. Substance abuse by adolescent may lead to undesirable behavior (Children and Youth Health, 2006). When one partner is a drug addict, it becomes difficult to show him/her love. This is because drug addicts exhibit erratic emotions; one moment him/her is happy, the next the person is angry. This leads to divorce, which in turn leads to fighting for custody of children and the family may end up being split.
Children end up growing lacking a father or mother. There are also cases where siblings are separated by law after divorce (Children and Youth Health, 2006). Over the years, the government has used the foster-care system to deal with parents who are drug addicts. This system can be disadvantageous in that, children may be placed in a foster family only to end up being mistreated by the foster parents. An example is in a recent case where a Carolina woman was charged with the murder of an adopted son who she habitually beat (Children and Youth Health, 2006).
Minnesota officials have come up with a different approach called Alternative Response that can help keep families together, through providing help to dysfunctional parents. In this process, social workers meet with the dysfunctional parent(s) and come up with a recovery plan. In this plan, the concerned party is required to clean his/her act. The parent is required to get off substance abuse, get a secure place to live, comply to regular hospital test to determine whether he/she is still taking drugs and also seek support and help of family and friends who will monitor his/her progress in recovery (Children and Youth Health, 2006).
The relatives are provided with a home testing kit, which they would use incase they think that the concerned party is using drugs. If the parent tests positive, the children are taken away from the parent by the relatives. This method uses the threat of taking the custody of the children away from the parent(s) as a motivator to the parent(s) to clean up their act. However it also encourages the addicted parents to seek support from friends, relatives, government and non-profit agencies.
The results of this approach have been impressive; Missouri and Virginia have also begun using this approach (Children and Youth Health, 2006). In conclusion, it is clear that addiction to drugs has the ability to tear down a family. The best solution is for everyone in the family to realize that the crisis will not go away unless everyone gets involved. The process of recovery is long and painful; it requires honesty from all members of the family. However, the result is a stronger and happier family.
Reference: Children and Youth Health (2006). Parents on drugs. Retrieved on August 17, 2010 from http://www.cyh.com/HealthTopics/HealthTopicDetails.aspx?p=114&np=305&id=1587