How+Adolescents+Are+Affected+by+Being+Raised+by+a+Drug+User

Being raised by a parent or parents who use drugs is very hard for a child to deal with. The life of that child will change drastically because they will be doing things they should not be doing at their age. They are likely to behave in a manner that is not age‐appropriate to compensate for the parental absence. Often children will develop systems of being in denial to protect themselves from the drug addiction that is going on around them. Adolescent drug experimentation may begin with the child. If expectations in the household are too high, the child will work extra hard to achieve higher than they feel they can. Meanwhile doing that they believe that no matter that they do it will never be good enough or they could just joke around to deflect the pain. If expectations in the household are too low and children are told throughout their lives that they will fail, they will conform their behaviour to match the expectations of their parents. The only way that will not happen is if a trusting adult interferes with healthy, positive, and supportive care. Children of parents who have alcohol abuse disorders feels guilty and feel like they are the cause of the addiction. Parents raising children with an alcohol addiction disorder can affect the child cognitively, behaviourally, emotionally and psychologically. Among the permanent problems recognized are:


 * Reduced learning capacity
 * A tendency to develop a substance use disorder
 * Adjustment problems; including increased rates of divorce, violence, and the need for control in relationships
 * Mental disorders such as depression, anxiety, and low self‐esteem

When the roles switch and a child undertakes adult roles and the adult abusing substances plays the role of a child, the restrictions vital to a fully functioning family are unclear. The developmentally inappropriate role taken on by the child steals him/her of their childhood, unless healthy, supportive adults intervene. Extended family members usually have to provide care as well as financial and psychological support. Grandparents commonly undertake a primary caregiving role, with sometimes help from friends and neighbors with caring for the child.

These children that are living with parents who use drugs may experience feelings of:
 * Abandonment
 * Anxiety
 * Fear
 * Anger
 * Concern
 * Embarrassment
 * Guilt

A key in a child's development issue is trust which can be a continuous struggle for those from family structures with a member who has a substance use disorder. A child living in this environment may grow up to be an overprotective and controlling parent who does not allow their children adequate independence. When substance abuse is part of a family, a lot of complicated issues can arise. Some of the issues that can present itself include, parental authority disputes, sexual or physical abuse, and self‐esteem problems for children.

Although there are quite a lot of negative effects of a child being raised by a parent or parents who have a substance abuse disorder, there are also some positive outcomes. Some of these positive outcomes include:


 * Resiliency; some children seem to be able to cope better than others due to their early exposure to the hardship of a family member who abuses substances
 * Children develop tools to respond to extreme stress, disruption, and change, including mature judgment, capacity to tolerate vagueness, autonomy, willingness to shoulder responsibility, and moral certitude



Anissa Anglin