Children Of Substance-abusing Parents Research Articles

Effectiveness of Emotional Intelligence Group Training on Anger in Adolescents With Substance-Abusing Fathers

ABSTRACTParental substance abuse is associated with impaired skills and ability to take care of children. Children of substance-abusing parents display higher levels of emotional difficulties. This article shows the effectiveness of emotional intelligence group training on anger in adolescents with substance-abusing fathers. The sample consisted of 60 high school boys with substance-abusing fathers, selected from referrals to public academic counseling centers in the city of Bojnurd in northeastern Iran. Next, the individuals were randomly divided into control and experimental groups. The experimental group received eight weekly one-and-a-half-hour emotional intelligence group training sessions in a school setting. The two groups were compared before and after the intervention using the Spielberger's State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory. In the experimental group, mean score of state anger decreased from 29.8 ± 4.2 to 15.6 ± 0.8 in pretest to posttest. Results of RMANOVA showed that training was effective in all four areas of Trait Anger, State Anger, Anger Control-In, and Anger Control-Out (p < 0.05). This study indicated that training of emotional intelligence skills was effective in reducing anger in adolescents with substance-abusing fathers.

Children of substance-abusing parents can benefit from family-based support system

Children of substance-abusing parents can benefit from family-based support system

A realist review of family-based interventions for children of substance abusing parents.

BackgroundMillions of children across North America and Europe live in families with alcohol or drug abusing parents. These children are at risk for a number of negative social, emotional and developmental outcomes, including an increased likelihood of developing a substance use disorder later in life. Family-based intervention programs for children with substance abusing parents can yield positive outcomes. This study is a realist review of evaluations of family-based interventions aimed at improving psychosocial outcomes for children of substance abusing parents (COSAPs). The primary objectives were to uncover patterns of contextual factors and mechanisms that generate program outcomes, and advance program theory in this field.MethodsRealist review methodology was chosen as the most appropriate method of systematic review because it is a theory-driven approach that seeks to explore mechanisms underlying program effectiveness (or lack thereof). A systematic and comprehensive search of academic and grey literature uncovered 32 documents spanning 7 different intervention programs. Data was extracted from the included documents using abstraction templates designed to code for contexts, mechanisms and outcomes of each program. Two candidate program theories of family addiction were used to guide data analysis: the family disease model and the family prevention model. Data analysis was undertaken by a research team using an iterative process of comparison and checking with original documents to determine patterns within the data.ResultsPrograms originating in both the family disease model and the family prevention model were uncovered, along with hybrid programs that successfully included components from each candidate program theory. Four demi-regularities were found to account for the effectiveness of programs included in this review: (1) opportunities for positive parent-child interactions, (2) supportive peer-to-peer relationships, (3) the power of knowledge, and (4) engaging hard to reach families using strategies that are responsive to socio-economic needs and matching services to client lived experience.ConclusionsThis review yielded new findings that had not otherwise been explored in COSAP program research and are discussed in order to help expand program theory. Implications for practice and evaluation are further discussed.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13643-015-0158-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Children of Substance Abusing Parents: Child Behavior Data of Brazilian Service

Children of Substance Abusing Parents: Child Behavior Data of Brazilian Service

Improving the outcomes of children affected by parental substance abuse: a review of randomized controlled trials.

Substance abuse is a major public health concern that impacts not just the user but also the user’s family. The effect that parental substance abuse has on children has been given substantial attention over the years. Findings from the literature suggest that children of substance-abusing parents have a high risk of developing physical and mental health and behavioral problems. A number of intervention programs have been developed for parents who have a substance abuse problem. There have also been a number of interventions that have been developed for children who have at least one parent with a substance abuse problem. However, it remains unclear how we can best mitigate the negative effects that parental substance abuse has on children due to the scarcity of evaluations that utilize rigorous methodologies such as experimental designs. The purpose of this study is to review randomized controlled trials of intervention programs targeting parents with substance abuse problems and/or children with at least one parent with a substance abuse problem in order to identify programs that show some promise in improving the behavioral and mental health outcomes of children affected by parental substance abuse. Four randomized controlled trials that met our eligibility criteria were identified using major literature search engines. The findings from this review suggest that interventions that focus on improving parenting practices and family functioning may be effective in reducing problems in children affected by parental substance abuse. However, further research utilizing rigorous methodologies are needed in order to identify other successful interventions that can improve the outcomes of these children long after the intervention has ended.

Helping the children of substance-abusing parents in the context of outpatient substance abuse treatment

A significant proportion of clients entering substance-abuse treatment have children who may need help and support. The study examines whether and, if so, how children are seen and noticed and what concrete actions are taken to help children both directly and through supporting the parenting of clients in outpatient substance-abuse treatment. These questions are investigated by means of qualitative analysis of data gathered from 17 professionals in the substance-abuse treatment field in Finland. In most cases, minimal information was collected about children at client entry. It seems to be general practice to ask only whether the client has children and how old they are. Children are seldom met in person in substance-abuse treatment, and they rarely receive direct help. Tools to support parenting are inadequate or totally lacking. The reasons given by the interviewees for the exclusion of children relate to workers’ views on the role of substance-abuse treatment. Possible skills and tools to support parenting and children were reported to originate mainly from sources other than training and working in substance-abuse treatment. Practices and tools specially designed to help children in the substance-abuse treatment context along with better understanding of the role of the substance-abuse treatment system in helping these children are needed.

Comparing psychiatric symptoms among children of substance-abusing parents with different treatment histories

It appears that no studies to date have compared the psychiatric functioning of children of substance-abusing parents (COSs) across substance abuse treatment histories (e.g., inpatient, outpatient, and residential). Different treatment histories may reflect differences in the severity of drug use, degree of impairment, or drug of choice, which may result in different symptomatology among COSs. Moreover, this information may be important for family-based treatment and prevention planning. In this study, we examine psychiatric symptoms experienced by children whose parents have different addiction treatment histories. Eighty-one parents in treatment for a substance use disorder who had two–eight-year-old children completed an anonymous, computerized assessment. Respondents reported on their child’s symptomatology as well as their own treatment history and current substance use. Overall, children were remarkably similar in psychiatric functioning and demographic characteristics across parents’ treatment histories. However, children whose parents had only received medication management or detoxification had significantly higher somatization scores, more social withdrawal, and greater attention problems than children whose parents received outpatient treatment (but not inpatient/residential treatment). Children whose parents had been treated in an inpatient or residential setting had marginally higher attention problems than children whose parents received outpatient treatment (but not inpatient/residential treatment). Differences across treatment histories were reflected in the severity of psychiatric symptomatology in the young children of parents in treatment. However, given the modest size of these differences, prevention and intervention programs with COSs may not need to be tailored as a function of parental treatment history as recruitment from various treatment centers may provide a sample with similar characteristics and risk profiles.

Parenting and problem behaviors in children of substance abusing parents.

This study examined parenting practices, parental stress, and problem behaviors among urban Children of Substance Abusing Parents. One hundred and seven children completed the Child Rating Scale and the Children's Depression Inventory. Parents completed the Parenting Practices Scale-Parent Version, Parenting Stress Index, and internalizing and externalizing scales on the Parent Observation of Classroom Adaptation. Structural Equation Modeling findings support an indirect effects pathway in which unfavorable parenting practices predict parental stress and parental stress predicts internalizing and externalizing behaviors. The results argue for assessing parental stress and including activities to improve the parent-child bond in family intervention programs.

Children of Substance Abusing Parents: Dynamics and Treatment

Children of Substance Abusing Parents: Dynamics and Treatment . Shulamith Ashenberg Straussner and Christine Huff Fewell (Editors). Springer, 2011. $50.00. 304pp. ISBN-13: 9780826165077 ![Graphic][1] Providing treatment to individuals who misuse substances and have children is always a challenging undertaking. As professionals, we will always try to help first and foremost the individual in front of us, but we all have to remain vigilant to the needs of children and vulnerable adults that are living with our patients. ‘Children of Substance Abusing Parents’ is trying to address all important aspects of this very difficult topic. This attempt to cover nearly everything is also its biggest challenge. A book that would truly fulfil this would be extensive; yet this piece … [1]: /embed/inline-graphic-1.gif

Targeting children of substance-using parents with the community-based group intervention TRAMPOLINE: A randomised controlled trial - design, evaluation, recruitment issues

BackgroundChildren of substance-abusing parents are at risk for developing psychosocial development problems. In Germany it is estimated that approx. 2.65 million children are affected by parental substance abuse or dependence. Only ten percent of them receive treatment when parents are treated. To date, no evaluated programme for children from substance-affected families exists in Germany. The study described in this protocol is designed to test the effectiveness of the group programme TRAMPOLINE for children aged 8-12 years with at least one substance-abusing or -dependent caregiver. The intervention is specifically geared to issues and needs of children from substance-affected families.Methods/DesignThe effectiveness of the manualised nine-session group programme TRAMPOLINE is tested among N = 218 children from substance-affected families in a multicentre randomised controlled trial. Outpatient counselling facilities across the nation from different settings (rural/urban, Northern/Southern/Eastern/Western regions of the country) will deliver the interventions, as they hold the primary access to the target group in Germany. The control condition is a group programme with the same duration that is not addiction-specific. We expect that participants in the intervention condition will show a significant improvement in the use of adaptive coping strategies (in general and within the family) compared to the control condition as a direct result of the intervention. Data is collected shortly before and after as well as six months after the intervention.DiscussionIn Germany, the study presented here is the first to develop and evaluate a programme for children of substance-abusing parents. Limitations and strengths are discussed with a special focus on recruitment challenges as they appear to be the most potent threat to feasibility in the difficult-to-access target group at hand (Trial registration: ISRCTN81470784).

Mental Health Services for Children of Substance Abusing Parents: Voices from the Community

This qualitative study explores how to improve services for children of parents with Substance Use Disorders (SUD) with unmet mental health needs. Focus groups were conducted with parents and caregivers to identify perceived barriers to services, including: (1) attitudes and beliefs about mental health care, (2) inadequacies in mental health services, (3) children's ambivalence about treatment, and (4) parental disagreement and lack of involvement. Peer support, afterschool activities, and family counseling were identified as potential improvements. This information can serve as a foundation and guide to develop services for the underserved population of children and adolescents of substance abusing parents.

Parenting skills and family support programs for drug-abusing mothers

Children born to drug-using mothers can suffer from fetal alcohol or drug syndrome (FAS/FDS) or fetal alcohol or drug effect (FAE/FDE). Such children have a greater likelihood of developing acute or chronic physical, cognitive and behavioral problems. In-utero exposure to tobacco, alcohol or drugs impact on the developing fetus and, after birth, the family environment and family system exert effects on the infants and children of substance-abusing parents. Evidence-based prevention and maternal drug treatment programs focus on enhancing parental childcaring abilities, supporting parent-child attachment and encouraging family support systems to improve children's health and cognitive outcomes. FAS/FDS prevention programs, as well as selective and indicated prenatal and postnatal interventions, can improve the support given both to mother and to child, and evidence-based, in-home parenting and family-skills-training approaches are particularly useful.

Screening, Early Identification, and Office-based Intervention With Children and Youth Living in Substance-abusing Families

All health care professionals with clinical responsibility for the care of children and adolescents must be able to recognize, as early as possible, associated health problems or concerns in children of substance-abusing parents, and to be able to assist these children and families in seeking treatment and promoting health. Health care providers can have a tremendous influence on families of substance-abusing parents because of their understanding of family dynamics and their close long-standing relationship with the family. Information about family alcohol and other drug use should be obtained as part of routine history-taking and when there are indications of family dysfunction, child behavior or emotional problems, school difficulties, and recurring episodes of apparent accidental trauma, and in the setting of recurrent or multiple vague somatic complaints by the child or adolescent. In many instances, family problems with alcohol or drug use are not blatant; rather, their identification requires a deliberate and skilled screening effort. Combining the principles of anticipatory guidance, screening, and early identification, with the acknowledgment that families should be included in the process, leads to a clear conclusion that screening for children affected by parental substance abuse must occur at all ages across infancy, childhood, and adolescence. Health care providers need to be trained in the identification and management of children and youth exposed to parental addiction. Such training must begin during undergraduate education in the health professions and be reinforced by role-modeling among health professions faculty as well as practicing providers.

Mortality and Morbidity Attributable to Use of Addictive Substances in the United States

Addiction to tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs inflicts a substantial toll on Americans, measurable in terms of deaths and illnesses, social costs, and economic costs. With approximately 60 million smokers, 14 million dependent on alcohol, and 14 million users of illicit drugs, more than one fourth of Americans over age 15 has a physiological dependence on at least one addictive substance. As a result, nearly 590,000 deaths--about a quarter of all deaths in the United States--are caused by addictive substances: 105,000 from alcohol abuse, 446,000 from tobacco use, and 39,000 from addictive drugs in 1995. The magnitude of addiction's impact on morbidity is also great, causing approximately 40 million illnesses and injuries each year. The economic burden of addiction is estimated at greater than $400 billion every year, including health care costs, lost worker productivity, and crime. Less quantifiable, but equally important, are the social costs to families and communities of addiction. Children of substance-abusing parents are more likely as adults to become plagued by addiction and its related problems. Passive exposure to tobacco smoke affects nonsmokers; drug and alcohol abuse are risk factors for crime and incarceration, family violence, fatal and permanently disabling accidents, birth defects, and divorce. Combined, the effects of tobacco, alcohol, and drugs inflict a greater toll on the health and well-being of Americans than any other single preventable factor.

The Genetics of Alcoholism

Back to table of contents Previous article Next article Book Forum: SUBSTANCE USE AND ABUSEFull AccessThe Genetics of AlcoholismMICHELLE KIM LEFF, M.D., MICHELLE KIM LEFFSearch for more papers by this author, M.D., Ruxton, Md.Published Online:1 Jan 1999https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.156.1.155AboutSectionsView EPUB ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InEmail This book is the first volume in a new series, Alcohol and Alcoholism, which is related to the editors’ first series, The Biology of Alcoholism. This new series will consist of nine volumes, each with a specific topic. This volume, on the genetics of alcoholism, is the first of four dealing with basic theoretical and experimental issues in alcohol and alcoholism research.The volume is organized into three main sections. Part 1 includes epidemiologic studies. Victor Hesselbrock, in his chapter on the genetic epidemiology of alcoholism (chapter 1), reviews the various familial-genetic studies, including twin studies and adoption studies. Michie Hesselbrock, in chapter 2, describes the genetic determinants of alcoholic subtypes. I found the third chapter, “Familial Transmission of Psychiatric Disorders Associated With Alcoholism,” very interesting. Remi Cadoret concisely analyzes the pertinent literature to date. Other chapters in this section include Andrew Heath’s very thorough review of the genetic influences on drinking behavior in humans (chapter 4) and James Wilson and Elizabeth Laffan’s chapter on testing for genetic influences on alcohol metabolism, sensitivity, and tolerance (chapter 5).Part 2, Selective Breeding Studies, focuses on the current knowledge that the animal studies have contributed to the field. These basic science studies may not have immediate applicability to clinical work; however, it is through these studies that factors influencing alcohol consumption and alcoholism have been identified. Richard Deitrich and Rodney Baker, in chapter 6, review the genetic influences on alcohol metabolism and sensitivity to alcohol in animals. In the next chapter, David Crabb et al. describe genetic factors that reduce the risk for developing alcoholism in animals and humans. They discuss the enzymology of alcohol-metabolizing systems, with one focus on the Asian alcohol flush reaction. Ann Kosobud and John Crabbe end this section with their chapter on the genetic influences on the development of physical dependence and withdrawal in animals.The first chapter in the last section of this volume, Phenotypic Studies, is a brief summation of the biochemical phenotypic markers in genetic alcoholism, presented by Ivan Diamond and Adrienne Gordon. In chapter 10, Henri Begleiter and Bernice Porjesz review the major neurophysiological phenotypic factors. This chapter is a good introduction to the field. They describe the confounding features of alcoholism, which make it difficult to identify specific genes, and the specific criteria critical for identifying a genetically influenced marker. They then discuss the pertinent findings from selected EEG and event-related brain potential studies. In chapter 12, Ralph Tarter et al. describe the studies in behavioral genetics that look to elucidate the etiology of alcoholism. Tarter presents the results from his well-known work, along with other studies looking at temperament associated with a greater risk for alcoholism. As a child psychiatrist who works with children of substance-abusing parents, I found this chapter very compelling. Gerald McClearn and Robert Plomin, in chapter 13, discuss various research strategies for the search for genetic influences on the phenotypes described in previous chapters. They stress the need for quantitative genetic research in this field. In the final chapter, Alexander Wilson and Robert Elston explain linkage analysis and review the linkage analysis research of alcoholism.This volume is a strong start in this new series. It is a well-organized, well-written volume that can be used as an up-to-date reference. I look forward to future volumes in this series.edited by Henri Begleiter, and Benjamin Kissin. New York, Oxford University Press, 1995, 378 pp., $79.50. FiguresReferencesCited byDetailsCited ByNone Volume 156Issue 1 January 1999Pages 155-155 Metrics History Published online 1 January 1999 Published in print 1 January 1999

The Challenge Model: Working With Strengths in Children of Substance-Abusing Parents

This article presents the Challenge Model, a new clinical paradigm for evaluating the children of alcoholics and other substance-abusing parents. Unlike traditional risk paradigms, the Challenge Model incorporates both the resilience and the vulnerabilities that can result when children struggle against hardship early in life. A developmental vocabulary of strengths is provided for child and adolescent psychiatrists to use in research, clinical thinking, and treatment and prevention efforts with children of alcoholics.

Social worlds in collision: When policy meets policy on parental substance abuse

The risk of child abuse and neglect is higher in families where the parent(s) abuse substances, with the highest incidence in families where both parents abuse alcohol. The interplay between parental substance misuse and child maltreatment has become a crucial issue in statutory child protection work and consequently for those who work intensively with clients in their homes. Not all children of substance-abusing parents are ‘at risk’ of harm, however, and abstention from drug usage is not always a helpful treatment goal, nor indeed does it necessarily reduce the harm to a child under protective scrutiny.