For this class, the article by Parolin et al., “Parental Substance Abuse as an Early Traumatic Event. Preliminary Findings on Neuropsychological and Personality Functioning in Young Drug Addicts Exposed to Drugs Early,” was chosen due to its relevant topic. There are many families where parents suffer from substance abuse remains comparatively high, which causes severe problems with upbringing children from such families are exposed to addiction from their birth. The researchers focus on the negative impact of parental substance abuse on child development, leading to addiction problems when these children become teenagers or young adults. Parolin et al. emphasize the increased risks for children’s psyche when exposed to drugs before birth. The long-lasting effects of parental substance abuse led to traumas from adverse parental behavior and biological changes in children’s minds. Therefore, the selected article allows us to determine the problems that negatively affect child development and aggravate the problems connected with substance abuse. It is critical to understand the causes of parental substance abuse and ensure that children do not suffer from it to solve the existing issues with drug addiction and domestic violence. It is possible to hypothesize that parental substance abuse that leads to the inability of adults to care for their children and the traumatization of children in such families are the primary concerns of social workers, psychologists, and educators.
The chosen topic is relevant to the world beyond psychology because it affects different spheres of life. For instance, parental substance abuse damages the behavior of children who live in such families, which becomes a problem for educators. Neurological complications that children whose parents are drug addicts do not allow them to generally study at school, which is a problem for teachers and their peers. These children require an individual approach to learning, which is always challenging for the teacher. Educators need to pay specific attention to these students during the class. Moreover, parental substance abuse is usually connected with the marginalization of the lifestyle. As a result, children from these families are exposed to crime and violence, which affects their worldview. They have greater chances of becoming drug addicts in the future compared to children who are brought up in families where parents are not substance abusers. This situation becomes a concern for social workers because it leads to an increased crime rate in the community and the spread of criminal activities. Possible physical and emotional abuse of children who live in families with parents who are drug addicts is relevant to educators and social workers who are responsible for protecting the well-being of children. Therefore, it is vital to develop a holistic perspective on parental substance abuse and protect children from potential harm.
Parolin et al. focus on various types of traumas children have resulted from parental substance abuse, including dysfunctional development of the nervous system and adverse experience at home. The researchers use the preliminary study to describe the psychological state of children whose parents are drug addicts. They emphasize that this childhood experience is trauma with long-term destructive consequences. There are several ways to prove this hypothesis in the article. The first method is the use of the assessment entitled Esame Neuropsicologico Breve-2, an example of the neuropsychological battery. The second method to prove the claim is the use of Shedler-Westen Assessment Procedure-200, which is the evaluation of personality disorders. The third method is the Symptom CheckList-90-Revised, which has similar functions and provides the researchers with theoretical information concerning children’s states. The critical point is that the surveys feature the answers of adolescents and young adults whose parents were substance abusers. It allows the scholars to evaluate the real impact of their adverse childhood on their personality development. Moreover, it is an effective way to develop and apply effective programs that reduce the damaging effects of parental substance abuse on children. It is possible to describe the approach that the article’s authors use as the trauma-focused one. The survey that Parolin et al. conducted among young adults and teenagers who have related childhood experiences allows them to analyze different variants of future that children from the families of substance abusers have. The researchers analyzed the information they received from the survey with the help of the IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, which allows them to evaluate both quantitative and qualitative data. Therefore, this information from the focus group allows the researchers to develop objective conclusions on the discussed topic.
The survey results show that the levels of psychological distress among teenagers and young adults who have relevant childhood experiences are different. Their pain level is almost 67 percent higher than their peers whose parents were not substance abusers. They tend to develop the signs of depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder combined with psychoticism and hostility. These qualities hurt their interactions with other people and have a destructive impact on their socialization and education. Individuals who were the victims of parental substance abuse in their childhood tend to develop the histrionic and the dependent traits of personality that are combined with high levels of hostility and anti-social traits in behavior. More than 73 percent of people whose parents were substance abusers report low adaptability skills, differentiating them from individuals with a normal childhood. The tests show that the cognitive functions of adolescents and young adults from the families where parents were substance abusers are lower than the exact parameters of their peers from the focus group. The article’s authors write about the neuropsychological damage that parental substance abuse has on children. For example, the results of three tests show that the respondents have lower mental flexibility, they perform visual searches slowly, they lack attention, and they have problems with switching between various tasks. Parental substance abuse also impacts the memory of their children, which leads to low results in the tests that suppose immediate recall of information, in the clock drawing test, and in the interference test. Comparing the test results from two survey groups allows the researchers to make conclusions concerning the negative impact of parental substance abuse on children’s neuropsychological, cognitive, and behavioral development, which are evident even when these children become mature.
The authors of the article assert that young people who become drug addicts have a history of parental substance abuse, and this factor makes their state more serious. Children who live in families where parents are drug users are regularly exposed to psychological abuse and physical violence. They do not have the chance to improve their lives because their parents do not support them. Moreover, children from these families suffer from cognitive problems that negatively affect their learning process and integration into society. All these issues are of great importance because parental substance abuse leads to the appearance of the second generation of drug addicts. It becomes a severe problem for society in general that destroys the lives of many children, which foregrounds the need to cope with it.
Parolin et al. do not write about the situation of violence and neglect of children among substance abusers, which is a critical detail in understanding the trauma that children in the families of drug addicts receive. The researchers mention that children from these families cannot adapt to life in the community and show hostility to most people. It is possible to explain it with the neglect from parents who are drug addicts and the lack of supervision from the side of social workers who allow children to stay with such families. In all cases, the investigation results show that parental substance abuse is a severe problem that requires attention from the side of psychologists, social workers, healthcare professionals, and educators. It is possible to talk about the complex traumatic experience that destroys human lives (Parolin, Micol, et al. 11). Children from these families do not receive adequate help from adults when they are young, which leads to the epidemics of substance abuse due to the inability of these people to oppose drug addiction when they become adolescents themselves. Adult people have to reduce the potential harm from parents with substance abuse to children. Otherwise, their lack of action might lead to the aggravation of drug addiction in society and destroy the lives of children who belong to the next generation, which is unacceptable.
Works Cited
Parolin, Micol, et al. “Parental Substance Abuse as an Early Traumatic Event. Preliminary Findings on Neuropsychological and Personality Functioning in Young Drug Addicts Exposed to Drugs Early.” Frontiers in Psychology, vol. 7, no. 887, 2016, pp. 1-15.