Children of Alcoholics
When many people think of substance abuse, they think of illegal drugs such as marijuana or cocaine, but the truth is that many young people, including young teenagers and even some younger children, consume alcohol, and in alarming amounts. While the trend was temporarily reversed in the 1980's, numbers have risen since then along with an increase in accompanying serious problems (Wodarski, 2004). This has caused professionals to question whether the preventive efforts we have made, such as DARE programs, have been effective or not (Wodarski, 2004).
Unfortunately for today's youth, many are particularly vulnerable to substance abuse, which often starts with alcohol, because of other factors in their lives. Fortunately, however, the factors that make them amenable to alcohol abuse also make them amenable to programs that can identify them and provide preventative strategies (Wodarski, 2004). These strategies, however, have to be carefully chosen so that they are both developmentally and culturally sensitive, and they need to address the social and environmental factors that contribute to the youths' susceptibility to substance abuse (Wodarski, 2004).
One clearly defined environmental...
In families where one or both
parents abuse alcohol, the children are more likely to show behavioral problems and will show lower achievement in
school than children without such a
family history (Cadaviera, 2003). This pattern has been studied. Researchers found that
youth were more likely to abuse
alcohol if the
mother drank excessively or if the mother became angry when drinking than if the father did. This fact was magnified if the youth avoided his or her mother when she was drinking, Youth who grew up in such homes were more likely to have other difficulties along with alcohol dependence, including a higher
risk for use of other drugs, increase risk for developing conduct disorder, and increased risk for developing a major depressive disorder. Clearly,
family history has a
significant impact on development of alcohol dependence in youth.
While research shows that
early intervention for youthful alcohol abuse can be effective, these children are not always identified. While most pediatricians believe they can help prevent alcohol abuse in their patients, in…
