Being brought up in families with alcohol- or drug addiction

On a forum in Sweden for relatives to substance abusers my colleague Ann-Charlotte Johansson and I  carried out a survey with some interesting results.

Here is a summary. (This was not a scientific survey, but it still shows significant signals). 80 people responded to the survey, mainly women. 44 people of the respondents grew up in a family where one parent or both parents had alcohol or drug problems.

* 44 people said they have grown up with parents with substance abuse including alcohol problems (37 people), alcohol + drug problems (4 people), drugs (1 person) and alcohol and medical drugs (2 people).

* 40 of the 44 people said that they experienced discomfort, fear and threat in the situations when their parents drank or were in the influence of other substances. 14 people answered that they were subjected to violence during the adults' alcohol or drug intake. 25 people said that they saw others being victims of violence during situations where someone was intoxicated, and that the violence was mostly directed against the mother. In some cases, the violence was also directed against siblings and in 2 cases against the father.

* 27 people who grew up with parents with addiction started relationships later in life with a person with addiction.

* 6 people out of the 44 who grew up with alcohol- or drug abuse in the family developed their own substance abuse later in life.

* 35 people said that when they were children they tried to protect an adult while another adults were under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

We need to help children in families where alcohol- or drug abuse take place! We need to see them and talk to them. Take action to get them out of the situation that they're in. We need to be aware of the signals which a child in this kind of situation might send out. 

Have you grown up in a home where alcohol- or drug abuse took place? Do you still feel affected by your previous situation? Or are you there now? You're NOT alone! But I know it might be very hard to talk about. Or bring it up again. Deal with all the feelings you might have suppressed. I know it might be difficult, but the first step on the way can be talking to someone that you trust. There are many ways in which you can get help.

Take care and be safe! 
/Carina

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