The Effect Drug-Addicted Parents Have on Their Children and Their Future

The Affect Drug-Addicted Parents Have on Their Children and Their Future
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The Affect Drug-Addicted Parents Have on Their Children and Their Future
Introduction
Drug addiction among parents has been an issue of concern due to the likely consequences that it could trigger in children. Many studies have explored this issue and highlighted the life-changing ramifications of the practice because it impairs the parent’s capacity to care for their children, leaving them vulnerable to unhealthy behavioral changes and other adverse exposures (Kelley et al., 2010). In this context, I chose this topic because children depend on their parents for care, without which they suffer severe consequences. Pilevari and Zahedi Asl (2021) also indicate that they emulate negative lifelong behaviors and practices, indicating that drug abuse by their caregivers can significantly influence their life outcomes. As a result, this understanding makes it essential to investigate how drug abuse among parents affects their children’s future.
Disruption of Proper Growth Environment
The effect of drug-abusing parents on children and their futures is complex. According to Kelley et al. (2010), parents with drug abuse practices often engage in other behaviors that interfere with the healthy environment required for proper growth. For instance, the author reveals that they engage in frequent intimate partner conflicts and violence that leave the children scared for their lives. Constant exposure to such harsh situations psychologically impacts young minds because they develop fear, which harms their emotional and mental development. The concern is that children in such environments suffer from increased adverse outcomes, including depression, anxiety, aggression, a diminished self-concept, and cognitive issues. Kuppens et al. (2019) also agree with Kelley et al.’s (2010) observation that parents in non-supportive homes have an increased capability of displaying deteriorating outcomes. The negative experiences they suffer do not spare any children, indicating that it also affects preschoolers and infants from a tender age. For instance, Kelley et al. (2010) suggest that this age group presents diverse behavioral and emotional symptoms like disrupted sleep patterns, poor weight gain, and irritability. These symptoms worsen among school-going individuals because the drug-induced violence creates persistent fears about their safety and those of their parents.
Studies agree that drug abuse among parents compromises children’s growth environment in diverse ways. For instance, Rhodes et al. (2010) acknowledge that drug abuse in families leads to household instability because parents fail to focus on creating a supportive environment for their children. Their focus on satisfying drug urges compromises their children’s safety by neglecting them. In this context, Straussner and Fewell (2015) argue that children living with such parents often suffer from complex parent neglect, ranging from lack of attention to violence and drug exposure. Kuppens et al. (2019) explain that drugs shift the concern of adults by prioritizing their consumption, making caring for their children a non-priority issue. As a result, these parents fail to monitor the children or provide them with a nurturing home. Other routine matters that affect the outcomes of the children include poor communication while interacting with intoxicated caregivers. The children also become used to the unpredictability, chaos, and inconsistent messaging, failing to guide them appropriately. Straussner and Fewell (2015) further indicate that the disrupted environment denies children the capacity to take up traditional practices and rituals that shape their identities, leaving them without a direction. As a result, the complications of the early growing environment precipitate other life-long consequences in these children.
Interference with Children’s Growth and Development
Researchers have established that parental drug abuse has far-reaching consequences on the well-being of their children. Kuppens et al. (2019) indicate that up to 12.3% of U.S.-based children below the age of 17 years are facing diverse growth and development complications arising from this practice. One of the leading issues of concern is the direct health complications of drug exposure. For instance, the author points out that passive exposure to tobacco triggers somatic health issues in adolescents and children. Straussner and Fewell (2015) also highlight that consumption of some drugs like alcohol during pregnancy lead to congenital complications, as evidenced by the fetal alcohol syndrome that triggers life-long health complications in infants. Findings also indicate that illicit drugs may lead to premature births or congenital disabilities like respiratory challenges that may persist in life. According to Straussner and Fewell (2015), neonatal abstinence syndrome might occur with characteristics such as stiff muscles, irritability, tremors, increased sensitivity, and excessive crying. Other children suffer later developmental delays affecting their language, speech, and motor capabilities due to congenital complications. Lack of proper care also negatively affects the health status of the children due to poor feeding and neglect. As a result, children growing up in families of drug-abusing parents remain at increased risk of complex health complications due to diminished care.
The psychological health of a child is critical for their growth. However, evidence reveals that drug abuse by their parents significantly affects the emotional status of these individuals in concerning ways, rendering them vulnerable persons in society (Straussner & Fewell, 2015). According to Kelley et al. (2010), exposure to intimate partner conflicts interferes with children’s mental stability. It leaves them under stress and pressure, creating a sense of fear and anxiety for their lives. Children feel lonely and unappreciated when their parents abandon them or prioritize drug intake, compromising their emotional stability. Kelley et al. (2010) further disclose that feeling neglected directly translates to helplessness, depression, and other psychological complications. Other children also suffer from the trauma of constant exposure to chaos, leading to posttraumatic-like symptoms throughout their lives.
The effect of drug abuse by parents on their offspring is not limited to health and psychological realms because they also affect the cognitive and academic domains of their school-going children. Straussner and Fewell (2015) indicate that this aspect has gained significant attention because the effects in this area determine the eventual success of the youths in the later stages of their lives. Kuppens et al. (2019) support this observation by arguing that life disruptions and psychological complications arising from parents’ ...