One in 10 Kids Have Alcoholic Parents: Study

rockin'robin

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 22, 2007
Messages
24,425
Reaction score
551
CHICAGO (Reuters) - More than one in 10 U.S. children live with an alcoholic parent and are at increased risk of developing a host of health problems of their own, according to a new government study released on Thursday.

Researchers at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) analyzed national survey data from 2005 through 2010 and found that, on average, 7.5 million children -- about 10.5 percent of the country's under-18 population -- lived with a parent abusing alcohol during any given year.

Most of those kids -- an average of 6.1 million each year -- lived in two-parent households where one or both of the adults had a drinking disorder, the researchers found.

Of the 1.4 million children who lived in a single-parent home where the adult had a drinking issue, the overwhelming majority -- 1.1 million -- were in female-headed households, SAMHSA said.

The researchers said children living with alcoholics were at greater risk of suffering from a number of mental health problems, including depression and anxiety.

The children were also more likely to be abused or neglected by their parents, more likely to have cognitive or language deficiencies, and four times more likely to develop alcohol problems of their own, the researchers said.

SOURCE: Report shows 7.5 million children live with a parent with an alcohol use disorder Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, February 16, 2012.

One in 10 U.S. kids have alcoholic parent: study | Lifescript.com
 
Last edited:
My dad was an alcoholic. He died from liver disease, from the alcohol.

My mom didn't drink except for rare special occasions (such as a wedding toast).

My brother drinks very little (I can't recall seeing him drink alcohol but he's not opposed to it; mostly he thinks it's a waste of money).

Neither Hubby nor I drink any alcohol.
 
My father and 3 of my siblings were alcoholics, even my grandmother was.

I don't have any alcohol in my home and believe drinking should be done around adults and not children.
 
Back
Top