A Majority of Adults Say Addiction Has Impacted Their Family

Researchers have found that some people may be more genetically prone to developing an addiction than others and a new study says that 75% of adults surveyed said they have a family member who has a substance use disorder (SUD). While people with a family history of addiction should be aware of the additional risks they face in developing a SUD of their own, it doesn’t mean that are doomed to a life of addiction.

By understanding what makes some people more genetically prone to developing an SUD and the measures that can be taken to prevent them from occurring, people can protect themselves and future generations from developing an addiction to drugs or alcohol.

More Families Are Struggling with Opioid Overdoses

Drugs like fentanyl have caused overdoses from opioids to skyrocket in recent years. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2020 drug overdose deaths rose by 14%, from 28 to 32 deaths per 100,000 people, and in 2021 nearly 107,000 people overdosed. It may come as no surprise that in a poll conducted by Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) in July of 2023 nearly 1 in 10 adults said they had a family member die of a drug overdose.

The same poll also revealed that 29% of those surveyed say they or a family member have been addicted to opioids—including prescription painkillers and illegal substances like heroin. The most impacted people were residents in rural areas at 42% and White adults at 33%. Nearly half of rural residents also said that they were worried that one of their family members would unknowingly consume fentanyl.

Grace Sparks, a survey analyst for KFF’s public opinion and survey research team says, “Clear trends have been emerging in past years that the nation is struggling with the many issues inside of addiction, including opioid use, fentanyl concerns, and how it’s impacted lives,” says Sparks.

“The nation is struggling with the many issues inside of addiction, including opioid use, fentanyl concerns, and how it’s impacted lives”

Grace Sparks, A Survey Analyst

How Alcohol Use Disorder Can Destroy Families

Recent data from the federal government shows an alarming trend in the increase of alcohol abuse nationwide. The number of alcohol-related deaths rose more than 45% and in 2021 alcohol was cited as the primary cause of death for more than 54,000 Americans which is up nearly 46% from 2018.

George F. Koob, director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), says that while consumption of alcohol had already been on the rise in recent years, the pandemic fueled the desire to drink alcohol even more as people used it for a coping mechanism during a time of turmoil and uncertainty. “The pandemic just made it worse,” Koob said.

This increase can be devasting for families who not only have to worry about their addicted loved one’s health and well-being, but it can also take a toll financially, lead to neglect, cause legal problems and emotional stress to other family members. Even if the person manages to get and remain sober, the lingering impact of a child growing up in a household with alcohol use disorder can remain well into adulthood.

(ACA) has identified several traits that are common in people who grew up with a parent who struggled with alcoholism including:

Being fearful of other people, especially authority figures
Have a hard time accepting criticism or being easily upset by angry people
Develop problems with personal alcohol use or marry someone with a SUD
Be preoccupied with taking care of others while ignoring their own needs
Feel guilty when standing up for themselves
Have a hard time expressing their feelings
Suffer from low self-esteem
Struggle with codependency

Kelly Thiebaut is the Director of Admissions for Fort Wayne Recovery & Allendale Treatment and says that her father’s struggles with substance abuse started to manifest into her own issues with alcohol as she became an adult. “While I never used drugs, I did abuse alcohol during my 20s and it wasn’t until I became a mom and realized that I didn’t want my daughter to see me the way I saw my father – that I decided that I needed to stop drinking,” says Thiebaut.

Breaking Generational Trauma with Mental Health Support

Even if someone didn’t grow up in a household where addiction took place, they could still be more prone to developing a SUD due to the effects of generational trauma which occurs when a parent or grandparent experiences an adverse childhood experience (ACE) such as abuse or trauma and passes those feelings on to future family members.

IU Health psychiatrist R. Andrew Chambers, MD says that there’s a lot more evidence pointing to how ACEs can alter someone’s DNA and pass that altered gene(s) down to future generations. “The comparison between ACEs and genetics is very interesting because ACEs tend to be passed down as if they were genetic, but it’s a culture that’s passed down from generation to generation within families,” said Chambers.

Thiebaut says it’s important for parents to seek out help for their SUD through a detox or rehab facility and to also get help for any mental health issues they’re struggling with to stop the cycle of addiction. “Substance abuse and mental health disorders go hand in hand. Substance abuse typically manifests as a way to cope with unaddressed behavioral health issues and when children are seeing parents use drugs or alcohol to cope with whatever is going on, the children learn to develop the same coping mechanisms.”

“Substance abuse and mental health disorders go hand in hand. Substance abuse typically manifests as a way to cope with unaddressed behavioral health issues and when children are seeing parents use drugs or alcohol to cope with whatever is going on, the children learn to develop the same coping mechanisms.”

Nate Moellering is a community outreach coordinator at Allendale Treatment and Fort Wayne Recovery and says that even if someone has a family history of SUDs, it doesn’t mean they will develop one. “Some people think that if both of their parents have struggled with an SUD they are doomed as well but that doesn’t have to be the case, says Moellering. “If they work on addressing their mental health issues, they alter their DNA and break the cycle for themselves and the next generation.”

“Some people think that if both of their parents have struggled with an SUD they are doomed”

Nate Moellering, Community Outreach Coordinator