Survey Do you think children of parents who abuse drugs and alcohol are affected by their parents' addiction?

In this survey 99 people were surveyed, and 63.64% of the responses were female, and 36.36% were male. The ethnic groups that made up this survey were as follows: 35.35% Black, 49.49% White, 2.02% Asian, 1.01% Latino, 7.07% mixed, and 5.05% other. People who took this survey ranged from 14 to 16.

In a survey of 99 people people answered as follows to the following question:

Do you think children of parents who abuse drugs and alcohol are affected by their parents' addiction?

31.31% Yes it affects every aspect of their lives.
29.29% Yes, it affects many parts of their social life.
10.10% Probably, but they wouldn't let anyone see it.
14.14% Maybe, but only a close friend would notice.
4.04% No

Survey Do you know someone who has an alcoholic parent or a parent addicted to drugs?

In this survey 99 people were surveyed, and 63.64% of the responses were female, and 36.36% were male. The ethnic groups that made up this survey were as follows: 35.35% Black, 49.49% White, 2.02% Asian, 1.01% Latino, 7.07% mixed, and 5.05% other. People who took this survey ranged from 14 to 16.

In a survey of 99 people people answered as follows to the following question:

Do you know someone who has an alcoholic parent or a parent addicted to drugs?

10.10% Yes, definitely. I see this all the time.
42.42% Yes but people don't talk about it that often.
12.12% Probably-but it does not affect me.
16.16% Maybe but I'm not 100% sure
19.19% No, I don't know anyone in that situation.

Research Research and More Research (Addiction to Drugs and Alcohol)

The second part of my post is on both addictions I'm covering.

Alcohol and drug abuse, dependency affect 27% of the U.S. population. Alcoholism and drug addiction are both referred to as diseases. This is because of the affect addiction has on the entire body, and the addicted person's inability to stop using the substance. Drugs are usually highly addictive, but alcohol is addictive based on the persons body. Because of this mental illnesses and alcoholism go and in hand. Many families with alcoholism believe that mental illness proceeds addictions. This does not mean that all addicts are mentally ill though. It is understandable that most addicts would rather be called "junkies" than "crazy".

Addiction makes family life very hard. Families with addictions tend to wall themselves off from the rest of the world and present a very false front.

Secunda, Victoria. When Madness Comes Home: Help and Hope for Families of the Mentally Ill. New York: Hyperion, 1998. Print.

Research Research and More Research (Alcohol)

For this post I hit the books. This post is all on what the "experts" think about children growing up with addicts.

Lets start off with children of alcoholics.

Between 28 million and 34 million Americans have an alcoholic parent. At least 6 million children are living with an alcoholic parent in the states. Knowing this you would not be surprised that there are more than 4,000 support groups for children of alcoholics in America.

Many children of alcoholics are affected by alcoholism years after they have moved away from their families. Much of this is because children are affected by their addicted parents at a young age. From when they first discover their parents addiction, and sometimes even into their late adulthood, they believe that their parents addiction is their fault. Children of alcoholics develop three basic rules for surviving. They are as follows: Don't feel, don't trust, and don't talk about your parents alcohol problems. This rough childhood can lead to harmful emotional traits when they enter adulthood. These traits include: difficulty with intimacy, anxiety when changes occur that they cannot control, and extreme loyalty towards people that may not deserve it. Many of their problems come from one belief, no matter how well they do their jobs work, or other interests, they will never be able to get the respect from the ones that they longingly need.

Hyde, Margaret . Alcohol: Uses and Abuses . New York: Enslow, 1988. Print.

Exactly What is My Question?

During this project I will be researching many questions that fall under the topic of growing up in a household with parents addicted to drugs and alcohol. My main questions are as follows: How do people live with their addicted parents? How does living with addicted parents affect your personality now and later? Are there signs that a person shows from living in a household with addicted parents? And lasty, how will this affect the relationship between parent and child?

Introduction

Have you ever wondered about the women wrapped in a wool jacket sleeping next to you on the subway, in the middle of July? Maybe the kid buying gum at the drugstore with a hand full of pennies. What were their lives like as a child, or what are their lives like now, when they go home. But have you ever thought about this...What is your lunch buddy, your chem partner, your gym pal, and even your best friend's life like, when they go home? Maybe you don't see them with broken bones, and bruises, maybe they've never been abused in the normal sense of the word, but what if there is something you don't know about them. What if they have parents that are addicted to drugs or alcohol, and they never told you? That is what this blog is about. The unspoken "What ifs" of life.

I know little about this topic other than what I've seen in the lives of those around me, which is the reason why I'm so interested in this topic. This project will be about something that we've all seen a piece of, and know exist, but don't really think about because it's not as threatening as other personal issues. I hope to take away from this knowledge of how and why people just put up with living in homes with addicted parents, and how living in these conditions affect their personality.