Holistic drug and alcohol treatment facility, Serenity at Summit, in Haverhill, Massachusetts, understands the impact that addiction has on families. Drug and alcohol addiction doesn’t only affect the person using or drinking – it works its way into every family member’s or loved one’s life, including children.
Parental Drug Abuse – By the Numbers
The number of children living in homes where parents or other adults abuse substances is far more than most people realize. There are an estimated five million adults in the U.S. who abuse drugs or alcohol and have at least one child living under the same roof with them. That equates to more than six million children who are living in homes that are experiencing drug or alcohol abuse or addiction. At least 18% of those children are under the age of 11.
Effects of Parental Substance Abuse on Kids in the Home
There are many ways in which parental substance abuse affects children in the home, the most common is neglect. When a parent is focused on getting or using alcohol or drugs, he or she doesn’t spend time with children and, when high, loses the ability to focus on children. Besides neglect, many parents who abuse drugs or alcohol may also physically abuse their children. These children often live in fear of a parent being high or drunk and becoming aggressive, angry, and abusive.
The impact of negligence, abuse and other traumas, such as witnessing a parent’s behavior while intoxicated, can cause other negative results, which may affect a child’s life later. Parental substance abuse can cause children to do poorly in school because they have no real understanding of how to relate to other people. They may also develop posttraumatic stress disorder, depending on what they have been exposed to. As adults, the children of addicts carry these issues with them, often ending up in unhealthy or abusive relationships, and they are more likely than others to become an addict themselves.
When children with addicted parents grow up and become addicted to drugs or alcohol themselves, they perpetuate an unhealthy and dangerous cycle.
About Serenity at Summit
Serenity at Summit offers holistic drug and alcohol detox and residential addiction treatment for clients in Massachusetts and New Jersey. Their residential detoxification and inpatient rehab centers approach recovery holistically – treating each client’s mind, body and spirit for a whole, integrative recovery. Contact Serenity at Summit for more information about its programs at 1-908-481-4400 (NJ), 1-978-641-3001 (MA).
Media Contact:
Rebecca O’Mara
Executive Director Brand Management
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