How Does a Mother’s Drug Abuse Impact her Children?
A recent study looked at children with mothers who abused drugs and the impacts of such. The findings show that the children are at high risk for physical, academic, and socio-emotional problems. Most of the mothers have low-income status, little education, mental illness, are prone to abuse or neglect their children, and have little contact with their children’s fathers. Because of these defining characteristics of the mothers struggling with drug abuse, the children also suffer.
The study indicated that several risk factors are involved in the parent child relationship and environment when a mother is abusing drugs. The higher the number of factors, the more likely that the child will develop a lower IQ and struggle with other things in their life, such as social and emotional problems. Further, the research indicated that often, the children were removed to their father or grandfather’s care, who were shown to also frequently manifest “problems of their own (histories of addiction, abuse and neglect of their own children) that may limit their ability to provide a supportive home for a child” (Conners et. Al, 2003). Also, the data showed that many of the children grew up to repeat the drug abuse cycle they watched their mothers struggle with: drug abuse, family conflict, and physical and/or sexual abuse.
Noteworthy is the fact that the study indicated that more support and help needs to be given to the children of mothers with drug abuse issues. Most residential treatment programs offer little or no help for the care of a mother’s children while she undergoes treatment, although a few do. But adapting, programs that help both the mother and her children and provide a full range of services when drug abuse is present, is critical.
Source: The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 2003