You might have seen traffic accidents caused by drunk driving. Like
some epidemics, substance abuse is a mass killer. Addict is a safety
hazard to the addict himself, to the family and to society. Addiction
leaves the scars of its ravages to the next generation as well.ย
This blog demonstrates the implications of drug abuse at the various
strata of the society. It describes in detail the wider implications of
drug abuse as it affects children in the families and economic
development for the society and nation.
SUBSTANCE ABUSE, FAMILY AND THE NATIONย
Addiction leads to deformation of the character of the children. When
one member of the family abuses drugs-be it a parent, child, or
relative-it causes disruption and disharmony within the family and every
family member suffers. Drug abusers often become so obsessed with the
habit that everything going on around them, including the needs and
situations of other family members is ignored, leading to a breakdown of
the family as an entity.ย
The nation pays a heavy price for drug abuse in economic terms as well
as in human terms. Most of the drug users are 18 to 35 years of age.
Some; of them are employed and others are not. The employed ones create
serious problems in their workplace.
Drug abuse has another price to pay: the ecological cost.
Deforestation, soil erosion, pollution of water sources, the extensive
spraying of herbicides, degradation of ecosystems, changes in the
hydrographic system, demographic pressure and population migration are
indirect consequences of drug production.
Substance Abuse and Familyย
The damaging effects of drug abuse on the family are perhaps those,
which pose the greatest threat to the nation. When own members of the
family abuse drugs- be it a parent, child or a relative-it causes
disruption and disharmony within the family and every member suffers.
Drug abusers are often obsessed with the notion that everything is going
on smoothly around them, including the needs and situation of family
members. Their ignorance lead to a breakdown of the family
functioning.ย
The abuser often demonstrates certain criminal behaviour by disturbing
the family atmosphere, and as a result suffers physically and
psychologically. The effect on the family members due to the loss of a
beloved one-very often an earning member is very painful.
Substance Abuse and Domestic Violenceย ย
Daily expertise and research has shown that domestic violence is a
common occurrence in the drug abusers family. Children and women are
particularly vulnerable to violence caused by addiction. "Child abuse,
wife battering, dowry deaths, marital violence and desertion are common
manifestations of domestic violence" (UNDCP 1999). Drug abuse,
particularly alcohol abuse and violence go together.ย
Drug addicts manifest many aspects of socially unacceptable behaviour.
Violence, aggression, grandiosity, irresponsibility, selfishness and
gambling can all become part of the chemical dependent life-style.
Violent drug related crimes constitute a large proportion of the crimes
committed in South Asian Countries- ranging from between as high as 70%
in Nepal and 20% in India. (UNDCP Report 1999).
Addictive Families and Children
Addiction affects children more than all other categories. Adults can
choose to live in the same family or leave it. Children can neither
choose to leave the addictive family, nor do they have the means to do
it. A wife or a partner may feel helpless about another family members
addiction, but the truth is that the child is truly helpless.ย
Due to the addictive behaviour of one member of the family the whole
attention of the family will be focused on that family. That effect of
such an environment is permanently disastrous for the child. They lose
their identity; they become victims of depression,
anxiety, and stress
and will have severe adjustment problems in the society.
Researches show that domestic violence is total harmful to the
emotional and mental development of a child. Even if they are not
physical by abused, witnessing violence lead them copy on parents and
siblings also tend to be abusers in adulthood. Many children of the
alcoholics become alcoholics.ย
Studies in India and other nations show that domestic violence is
common in drug abuser s family. Women and children are the usual victims
of this violence. Child abuse is the most serious form of this violence.
It is estimated of every four female victims of sexual abuse, three are
minors.ย
Family Response to Addictionย
As mentioned earlier, family remains the first and most important
socialising institution, where safety and security for the individual is
found while facing difficulty in life. Drug abuse is a sign that a
family has failed to help the child in its maturing process. It is sign
of helplessness from the family like a person attempting suicide,
because he cannot cope with the tasks of life.
A family copes with addiction in different ways. Almost in all cases
the methods are unsatisfactory, indirectly encouraging addiction of the
children. If the family has adopted a healthy method, it would have been
able to solve the problem successfully. We shall describe below the
various responses of families in the face of addiction. You can identify
that they are all negative methods.ย
Similarly, the family of the addict responds to addiction in certain
ways, which are often damaging to the individual. The six-stage process
is given below.ย
1) Denial:
Denying and justifying the drinking problem of the member. When the
family becomes aware of the problem, it would refuse to accept it as a
problem or deny the problem. The family members might also find other
reasons justifying the addict s drug habit.ย
2) Withdrawal from the society:
The family withdraws from all social interactions, for fear of being
identified as a problem family. They will try to protect the addict from
the consequence of drug abuse by taking responsibility for his
actions.ย
3) Loss of control:
When the family members dance to the tune of the addict for a long time
and the addict continues to behave the same way, taking advantage of the
good will of the family members they begin to feel angry.ย
4) Re-organising the Family System:
This is one of the early methods, which the family found effective. The
family members take up the responsibility of the addict and fulfil the
roles the addict is supposed to fulfil.ย
Emotional Response of the Addictive Familyย
We would like to repeat that addiction is a family disease. No member
can escape the consequence of the addiction of one member of the family.
They suffer physically as well as emotionally. Here we are describing
how the family responds emotionally addiction:ย
Guilt:
The family members feel that addiction of a dear one is due to some of
their own fault. This response is strengthened by social stigma attached
to addiction.ย
Anger
:
The family members try their best to adjust themselves to the demands of
the addict. They may not express their resentments and may not even meet
their own physical needs to placate the addicts.ย
Grief:
The family has lost all interest in life. They also feel the loss of a
very dear person. There are sorts of loss, like material goods, good
name of the family, personal dignity etc. grief needs to be expressed,
just like any other emotion.ย
Shame:
Living in an addictive family is very stressful. The behaviour of the
addict is highly unpredictable. The members do not know what to expect
from the addict.
Behavioural Response of the Addictive Familyย ย
All behaviours are expressions of emotions. Addictive families have
certain predictable behavioural patterns. The intensity of these
behaviours may differ, but they do not have similarities in
contents.ย
Protecting:
The family members want the addict to get out of the problems. So they
take up the work and duties he himself has to perform. Instead of making
him realise and face the problem arising out of his irresponsibility,
they will do all his work, clear his debts, and tell lies about his
absence. This process is called enabling. We will be discussing more in
the next section, i.e. codependency.ย ย
Controlling:
The family members make all kinds of efforts to control the addictive
habits of the addict. They may buy a fixed amount of drugs for him to
use at home; they may try to destroy the supply of drugs in his
possession, and they may try to accompany him whenever he goes.ย
Blaming:
The addict s actions are damaging for the family. This makes the members
angry. But often they do not express it to avoid confrontation. When
something goes wrong seriously in the family, the members will begin
blaming the addict for the misfortune.ย
Denial:
No one would like to admit unpleasant realities, which they cannot
control. One way to handle such situations is to deny them.ย
Co-Dependency
"Co-dependency is an emotional, psychological and behavioural condition
that develops as a result of an individual s prolonged exposure to, and
practice of, a set of oppressive rules which prevent the open expression
of feeling as well as the direct discussion of personal and
interpersonal problems. In other words it means being a partner in
dependency.ย
When a person takes to drugs he will not be able to continue his habit
for a long time if somebody is not there to help him to face the
consequences of his action. Without them he would be forced to face the
consequence of his drug habit, before it becomes a case of full-blown
addiction.
Reference
1. National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2020, September). Helping someone you care about: How to talk about substance use. https://nida.nih.gov/research-topics/parents-educators
2. SAMHSA. (2020, September 30). Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. https://www.samhsa.gov/
3. The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc. (n.d.). Helping a loved one with addiction. https://ncadd.us/
4. Azrin, N. H., & Powell, J. N. (1968). Behavioral contracting with alcoholics. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9042643/
5. Flinn, M. A., & Garland, A. N. (1988). Family therapy for alcoholism and drug abuse. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22514845/
6. Meyers, R. J., & Smith, J. E. (2000). Clinical handbook of alcohol and drug abuse treatment protocols. Springer Publishing Company.
7. O Farrell, T. J., & Cutter, F. (1978). Taking care of yourself: The complete family guide to alcoholism. New York: Simon and Schuster.
8. Wegscheider, C. (1976). The miracle of change: Overcoming substance abuse and codependency. Hazelden.