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 prioriti...