Impact on Families

PLEASE REPLY TO EACH STUDENT WITH ONE REFERENCE EACH.

JENN

Addiction doesnt just affect the addict, it impacts the whole family. Family members are often feeling stressed, scared, and most of all emotionally drained watching their loved one struggle. A lot of times family members start to change their behavior by trying to cover up the addiction, making excuses for their loved one, and even start protecting them from serious consequences. Over time, family members become anxious, depressed, or hyper-focused on the addicts behavior. Some family members may feel responsible for helping the person get better, while others may pull away to protect themselves. Choate (2015) explains that addiction can lead to increased conflict, breakdown in communication, and emotional exhaustion within families. This can change how family members think about their loved one and sometimes leads to resentment, mistrust, or feeling hopeless.

Family dynamics also play a big role in how the addiction continues. When loved ones enable the behavior, such as giving money, paying bills, or avoiding the tough conversations, it makes it easier for the addiction to keep going. On the flip side, constant arguing or blaming can increase stress and push the person further into their addiction as a way to cope. Addiction also changes how the brain works, increasing cravings and making self-control harder, even when the person wants to stop (Tripathi, 2017). These struggles often lead to financial problems and larger social costs tied to healthcare and lost productivity (Jiang et al., 2017). Overall, families and addicts affect each other in powerful ways, and healing usually requires support for both.

JORDAN

From the modules we have learned that addiction can make or break an individual’s odds of overcoming it or succumbing to its effects. According to Lander et al. (2013), substance disorders can disrupt family roles, affecting communication amongst family members. This can result in the family having cases of anxiety and depression due to coping methods amongst family members. The emotional strain can be severe, leading to increased stressors to effectively end relationships. According to the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions, 48.3% of partners with alcohol use disorders experience separation or divorce (Cranford, 2014). The addiction can massively disrupt intimate relationships. During a study on domestic violence in the U.S., Gonzalez et al. noted that 29% of the members in the study that committed domestic violence were drinking at the time of the incident (2014). Addiction can influence bad behavior and, in many cases, conflict that involves physical harm within a family.

Addiction can cause stress and exhaustion amongst family members, but in many cases, family can have both a positive and negative effect. Generally, supportive family behaviors can be highly beneficial to someone with an abuse disorder. Encouraging the individual to receive care or treatment can change the trajectory of their recovery. Author McCrady found that family involvement, like therapy, can improve the outcomes of ones alcohol abuse disorder (2021). Families that decide to not normalize addiction within their households have a higher chance of improving the environment altogether. Versus families that avoid and excuse it, in which higher likelihoods of relapse have been seen (McCrady, 2021). The overall health of a family can change the trajectory or inhibit relapse of addiction if the support in the household is strong or weak. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism reports that about 7.5 million children live with at least one parent who has an alcohol use disorder (2023). Exposure to alcohol at a young age can increase the risk of future alcohol addiction. Therefore, the family dynamic can provide the support to the individual and the household to improve the overall outcome of substance abuse. Thanks for reading!