Effects of Adult Addiction on a Developing Child’s Brain
By Stephanie Blay Muah, BSc Neuroscience
During pregnancy, mothers are advised to stay away from drug or substance use but some mothers, families or parents forget the impact of substance or drug use on developing children after birth. Parental addiction can have significant negative impact on a child’s emotional, cognitive, and social development. Alcohol and drug use behaviours fall under the category of substance involvement. These behaviours range from the beginning and sporadic use to addictive processes that substantially affect daily functioning.
There are several ways that addiction can harm a developing child’s brain, and one is the disruption of a secure attachment bond with the primary caregiver. When a primary caregiver of a child is suffering from addiction, there is normally lack of dependability and reactivity in the emotional attachment, which then leads to an unhealthy bond with the child. Children who experience this kind of relationship with their primary caregivers, tend to have difficulty in building meaningful positive relationships later in life.
A child’s cognitive skills are very crucial during development because these are skills children use to pay attention and think about the world around them. Different experiences can impact a child’s cognitive development and addiction of the primary caregiver or adults around them is no exception. A child’s home environment which includes emotional warmth displayed by parents while interacting with their children; provision of stimulating and learning experiences in the home; and physical surroundings, such as safety of play areas and cleanliness (Neustaedter, 2015), can be disrupted by addiction. Children who undergo the challenge of being cared for by a caregiver suffering from addiction, may have inadequate educational or learning resources which will eventually interfere with their schooling and further impact their academic achievements. They may also experience some emotional and behavioural problems such as depression and anxiety. The lack of meeting societal standards as a developing child such as, thriving in school or having a healthy home environment, can cause vulnerability in the child, leading to traumatic events and increased stress levels, which will in turn affect their brain development. These children typically have a higher chance of developing an addiction themselves later in life. (Nationwide Children’s, 2023)
Additionally, children of primary caregivers or parents suffering from addiction are more likely to experience physical abuse, neglect, and emotional abuse and this can have dangerous effects on their brain development. These experiences can lead to mental health disorders in children as they grow. The events children of addicted caregivers go through can be classified as adverse childhood experiences. Adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs, are potentially traumatic events that occur in childhood (0-17 years) (CDC, 2022). ACEs are categorized into three groups: abuse, neglect, and household challenges. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can have a tremendous impact on future violence, victimization, perpetration, and lifelong health and opportunity (CDC, 2022). Children who have multiple ACEs tend to have more physical and mental health problems later in life such as heart diseases, substance abuse, depression etc. (AHS, 2023). However, it is important to note that some children are resilient and do not get affected by the negative impacts of exposure to an addicted caregiver or parent and can cope better than other children in similar circumstances.
In conclusion, it is crucial for parents or caregivers who are struggling with addiction to understand how it may affect their children's brain development and to offer them the support and tools they need to cope. Some ways by which caregivers or parents struggling from addiction can support their children is by strengthening their relationships such as having open and positive communication with children: active listening and questioning. Another way is by encouraging or emphasizing positive treatment and behaviour and also setting clear boundaries with how they treat people and how people should treat them. Last but not least, parents and caregivers need to practice self-care which can include getting help with their addiction. Addiction is hard to overcome, but with the proper help, one can move forward in recovery. If you are struggling with addition or know of someone who could use support in Southern Alberta visit ICA for local services. https://www.lethbridgeica.ca/addictions
References
Carman Neustaedter, Tejinder K. Judge, Phoebe Sengers, Chapter 8 - Autobiographical Design in the Home, Studying and Designing Technology for Domestic Life, Morgan Kaufmann, 2015, Pages 135-158, ISBN 9780128005552, https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-800555-2.00008-3.
Alberta Health Services https://myhealth.alberta.ca/health/AfterCareInformation/pages/conditions.aspx?hwid=acm1449
Fast Facts: Preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences |Violence Prevention|Injury Center|CDC.
(n.d.). https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/aces/fastfact.html
Nationwide Children’s https://www.nationwidechildrens.org/conditions/addiction#:~:text=Genetics.,with%20the%20pain%20and%20stress.
Photo: https://anaheimlighthouse.com/blog/how-drug-addiction-affects-children/