The Impact of Substance Use Disorders on Families and Children: From Theory to Practice PMC

The connection between alcohol, interpersonal violence and codependency is widely documented. Constant conflict or neglect can severely impact children of parents with alcohol addiction. They may experience loneliness, depression, guilt, anxiety, anger issues and an inability to trust others. It’s never easy to bring up the subject of substance abuse with a family member, but in most cases, the person with the problem will not be the one to initiate this conversation.

• Explore how many people ages 18 to 25 engage in alcohol misuse in the United States and the impact it has.
• Alateen specifically caters to the needs of teenagers grappling with the effects of a family member’s alcoholism, fostering a sense of community and understanding.
• Similarly, we can be affected by the drinking of our partner, friend or loved one, causing tension and disagreement, or leading us to drink more.
• The attitudes and beliefs that family members have about SUDs are also of importance as these will influence the individuals as they try to get sober and will influence the efficacy of treatment interventions.

Strong Coping Skills

At any moment, someone’s aggravating behavior or our own bad luck can set us off on an emotional spiral that threatens to derail our entire day. Here’s how we can face our triggers with less reactivity so that we can get on with our lives. On a family road trip, our adventurous driver wondered what would happen if he put the car into reverse while we were coasting downhill. Long story short, we ended up in Nowhere, Utah, stranded for several hours, waiting for a tow truck. Unsurprisingly, the vehicle—which is designed as an efficient, coordinated system—needed several repairs because once one part was thrown into chaos, other systems went awry as well. Encouraging our loved ones to get treatment is important, but there are also other steps that can help us protect our well-being.

Types of Family Therapy

These treatments have focused on the role of the family in the initiation of help seeking, initiation of change, and maintenance of long-term change. The following sections describe and review treatments for affected family members in their own right, and as a way to help effect change in the identified individual with AUD. This is then followed by a review of the array of interventions influenced by cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and family systems models. In this perspective, the family system assumes the role of protective or risk factors, especially referred to the family climate, communication, and parental support.

Summary of Family–Involved Treatments

Repairing relationships is a critical part of 12-step programs and one of the four supporting pillars of recovery, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). “Someone in active addiction will typically have more difficulty empathizing with their partner or reflecting on the impact of their actions because their attachment to the substance compromises their how does alcohol affect relationships ability to do so,” explains Vanessa Kennedy, PhD, director of psychology for Driftwood Recovery. In addition, you can visit The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV), a domestic violence prevention advocacy group with a list of resources for relationship abuse help. If you can answer “yes” to any of these questions, you may need to evaluate whether you have an alcohol abuse problem.

Important note on domestic abuse

An example of enabling is when the parents of a 25-year-old man repeatedly bail him out of jail and pay for lawyer and court fees generated as a result of drug-related arrests. The parents are attempting to help their son and maintain homeostasis in the system by preventing him from going to jail, however the secondary effect is that the son experiences no consequence to his use. Parents and grandparents do not always agree on how to “help” an adult child with an SUD. Social workers can encourage parents of adult children to seek their own help in Al-Anon and Nar-Anon. These are 12-Step programs for family members that will help them disengage with love, so that they stop enabling and begin to care for themselves.

Impact of Parental Substance Abuse on Children

So, I just signed up with a health coach, because I know that I need my own support. Erin Jean Warde, an Episcopal priest and sobriety coach, as well as the author of Sober Spirituality, has seen the dangers of both extremes. As a believer in harm reduction and prison abolition, Warde doesn’t want to outlaw alcohol or treat substance users with contempt.

Impact on Children

• Genograms can reveal SUD patterns in a visual way and help to obtain family details of substance use without directly asking about the problem thereby decreasing defensiveness.
• They can help determine whether what you’re experiencing is alcohol use disorder and recommend further evaluation or treatment if necessary.
• Unfortunately, few programs currently offer family therapy as part of addiction treatment, although it is more likely to be part of the treatment plan for adolescents.
• If you or someone you love has an alcohol use problem and are concerned about the impact it might be having on family and friends, talk to your healthcare provider.

Fifty-three full-text articles were studied and assessed, and 25 studies were finally identified as suitable for this review study. The obtained results were organized in relevant tables and classified into specific groups. The lack of executive function and cognitive control individuals have while intoxicated can lead them into situations that were unintended.

Referral to a child and adolescent psychiatrist for a medication evaluation may also be helpful as well as assisting teachers with behavioral interventions in the classroom. In general, the point revealed in this study and mentioned in all reviewed studies was that when the families expressed the challenges caused by addiction, they also expressed their efforts to overcome the problems and called it the challenge that addiction had created for them. In other words, the families tried to survive and keep their family members alive while they were frustrated and exhausted and provided the basis for the family’s recovery.

In conclusion, the implementation of diverse intervention and treatment strategies is vital in mitigating the impact of alcoholism on family dynamics. By incorporating family-based interventions, support systems, and addressing underlying family issues, a holistic approach can be employed to facilitate the recovery process for both the individual and their family members. Many individuals with alcoholism and their families may have experienced trauma, contributing to the development and perpetuation of alcohol misuse. Trauma-informed care approaches alcoholism treatment with an understanding of the impact of trauma on individuals and families. By creating a supportive and empathetic environment, trauma-informed care addresses the root causes of alcoholism and promotes healing within the family unit. Support organizations exist for friends and family members of those with alcohol use disorders due to the problems created by the condition.