The Trauma of Children of People With Addiction

Research is clear that there is a link between growing up in a household with alcoholics and the potential for trauma to children. Addiction Resource do alcoholics get red noses is an educational platform for sharing and disseminating information about addiction and substance abuse recovery centers. Addiction Resource is not a healthcare provider, nor does it claim to offer sound medical advice to anyone. Addiction Resource does not favor or support any specific recovery center, nor do we claim to ensure the quality, validity, or effectiveness of any particular treatment center. No one should assume the information provided on Addiction Resource as authoritative and should always defer to the advice and care provided by a medical doctor. Studies show a correlation between malnutrition and physical abuse in adult children of alcoholics.

As such, a wide range of individual and family therapy options are available through American Addiction Centers (AAC). Explore our treatment centers online or contact one of our admissions navigators. We can help you not only explore family therapy options but also identify tailored treatment programs to meet your unique needs or those of a loved one. Seeking support from others who’ve been in your shoes is extremely helpful during the healing process. Thus, when a parent or primary caregiver has an AUD, the following online resources may be helpful for both children and parents.

“Many people with AUD are unable to have healthy conflict, especially when under the influence of alcohol,” says White. Knowing you couldn’t count on your caregiver for emotional support could also diminish your sense of self-esteem, according to Amanda E. White, licensed professional maverick sober living counselor and founder of the Therapy for Women Center. For instance, survivors of alcoholic homes need to find a safe place to talk about what they have experienced. If you or anyone you know is undergoing a severe health crisis, call a doctor or 911 immediately.

1. If your parent has AUD, you may be more likely to act without planning or considering potential consequences.
2. Never entirely sure how they’d act or react, you might have found yourself constantly on high alert, ready to respond accordingly and protect yourself.
3. A diagnosis often brings relief, but it can also come with as many questions as answers.
4. If you or someone you know is struggling as a child of alcoholics, find further information and help about ACoA on their website.
5. Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a chronic and potentially severe medical condition characterized by an individual’s compulsive and problematic pattern of alcohol consumption.

How to get support

You can always encourage them to get their own help, but you don’t need to feel shame for taking care of your own mental and physical needs. For clinicians, researchers suggested that while medical intervention is not common, incorporating practices like screen and psychosocial treatments could assist adults and lower the rates of AUD. If you have experienced this situation as a child and you wonder if your feelings are normal, it’s likely that there are many others in your shoes.

Conditions

It’s estimated that about 1 in 10 children (7.5 million) have lived with at least one parent with alcohol use disorder, based on a 2017 report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a chronic health condition that can have a serious impact on a person’s life. That said, it’s important to recognize that behaviors resulting from this illness can have a negative impact on loved ones. Living with addiction can have lasting effects on a person, but it can also significantly affect their loved ones, particularly their children.

The Long-Term Effects of Growing Up in an Alcoholic Home

Most importantly, the person with the AUD should consider treatment, as rehab can aid not only the individual but also the family as a whole. However, the way you speak and interact with children also may lessen the impact of a parent with a SUD. All of that said, it’s important to explore the potential effects so you, your children, or others in your life can better understand and mitigate these effects. You’re not to blame if you learned to use alcohol as a means of dealing with trauma from your childhood, but you can always take action to learn new, more helpful coping mechanisms.

Sherry Gaba, LCSW, is a licensed psychotherapist/author specializing in addictions, codependency, and underlying issues such as depression, trauma, and anxiety. Children of alcoholics may struggle with trust, keeping friendships, communication and conflict resolution skills in their personal and professional relationships. Try to remember that nothing around their alcohol or substance use is in connection to you, nor is it your responsibility to alter their behavior.

As a result, Peifer says you could have difficulty accepting love, nurturing, and care from partners, friends, or others later in life. Growing up with a parent who has AUD can create an environment of unpredictability, fear, confusion, and distress, says Peifer. These conditions can take a toll on your sense of safety, which may then affect the way you communicate with and relate to others. Yet while your parent didn’t choose to have AUD, their alcohol use can still affect you, particularly if they never get support or treatment.

In the absence of a stable, emotionally supportive enviornment, you learned to adapt in the only ways you knew how. As an adult, though, you can learn to manage and change specific behaviors that no longer help you, which can improve your overall well-being, quality of life, and relationships with others. Couples therapy can also have benefit, according to White, if you believe behaviors rooted in your childhood experiences have started to affect your romantic relationship. “In this process, you’ll process unresolved traumatic experiences and develop tools to formulate healthy relationships and communicate your needs,” she explains. Coping with how to store urine for a future drug test the lasting effects of a parent’s alcohol use can be difficult, but you don’t have to do it alone.

According to a 2023 study involving female participants, dissociation increases suicidal behavior and is a mediator between childhood sexual abuse and suicidal behavior. It often results from sustained exposure to trauma, such as childhood abuse or violence. This distinguishes it from the traditional diagnosis of PTSD, which can result from a single, time-limited traumatic event. CPTSD is a subtype of PTSD that develops in response to prolonged, repeated traumatic experiences, typically lasting months or years. Many people with complex PTSD use alcohol to self-medicate, which may lead to alcohol use disorder (AUD). If one or more parents continue drinking heavily as the child is growing up, this can also have negative consequences.