University Report: Parental Substance Abuse Impact on Child Psychology

This report examines the detrimental effects of parental substance abuse, specifically alcohol and drug misuse, on the psychological development of children in the UK. It explores the prevalence of substance abuse among parents, identifying specific substances with the most significant impact on children's well-being. The study highlights the correlation between maternal alcohol use and children's emotional abuse and negligence, emphasizing the link to early substance use in children. The research also analyzes the effects of substance abuse during pregnancy, leading to various abnormalities in children's neurological development. The report presents the methodology, including search strategies and literature reviews, along with key findings, discussion, and conclusions. It links these findings to relevant policies and provides valuable insights into the critical issue of child safety and the importance of addressing parental substance abuse to ensure healthy child development. The report also addresses relevant policies, research gaps, and potential future research directions.

Running head: PARENTAL SUBSTANCE ABUSE IN UK
Parental Substance Abuse in UK
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Executive Summary
This study discusses about the adverse impact of alcohol consumption by the parents over the
psychological development of their peers. The study showed that a huge number of
children’s psychological growth is retarded due to the alcohol consumption by their parents.
The current study aimed to find the condition of the bad effect regarding the psychological
development of the peers The study showed a positive correlation in between the mothers’
alcohol use and children’s emotional abuse, negligence. Moreover the study also concluded
that extreme level of all of these conditions encourages early onset of alcohol use by the
children. It is also observed that the mothers’ behaviours of consuming alcohol are also
associated with the antisocial behaviours of the children. However, the severity of impact of
the fact reading the fathers’ alcohol use is much lesser than that of the mothers’. The study
anticipated that the onset of early age substance use among the children enhanced the risks of
antisocial behaviours among the children. While discussing about the specificity of the
substance abuse among the parents, it can be stated that the use of tobacco by the mother
promoted the substance use by their peers more than that of the use of marijuana did by their
mothers. Furthermore, the study also stated that the substance abuse during the pregnancy
can cause various abnormalities (e.g. FASD, FAS) regarding the neurological development
of the children.

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Table of Contents
1. Introduction............................................................................................................................3
1.1 Background......................................................................................................................3
1.2 Relevant Policies..............................................................................................................6
1.3 Aims and Objectives........................................................................................................7
1.4 Research Question............................................................................................................7
2. Methodology..........................................................................................................................7
2.1 Search Strategy.................................................................................................................7
2.2 Search Result....................................................................................................................8
2.3 Review of Literature........................................................................................................8
2.4 Research Gap.................................................................................................................11
3. Findings................................................................................................................................12
4. Discussion............................................................................................................................17
5. Conclusion............................................................................................................................22

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1. Introduction
1.1 Background
The issue of substance abuse is one of the major health related concerns for the public
health and in this regard the misuse of alcohol and drugs is mainly mentioned by the health
care professionals of the society. This drug abuse by the parents of the children is directly
affecting their children in negative manner and thus it can be stated that the children have
become vulnerable to the effects of parental drug misuse. In England, it is estimated that the
almost 162,000 children live with someone who are opiate users and those opiate users are
the primary care takers of those children. Along with this the data also suggested that almost
200,000 children are dependent on the parents who are dependent on the use of alcohol
(McGovern et al. 2018). In this, regard, it can be stated that those children who are dependent
on the alcohol users, have higher risks of getting affected by adverse incidents in the society.
From the studies of different authors, it was reported that in UK almost 2-4 per cent of the
parents were harmful in nature to their children due to their nature of excessive drinking of
alcohol. However, it is also evident that there was not adequate information regarding the
illicit drug misuse of the parents and thus prevalence of these children dependent on the
parents are not known properly (Patterson 2016). According to the study of McLaughlin et
al. (2016), it is estimated that almost 8 per cent of the children of UK may live with their
parents who are users of illicit drugs that is in such condition the parents of those children
have used illicit drugs within a time period of 1 year. Not only this, but the study also
identified that among those children’s 2 per cent of the children’s parents were class drug
users. Furthermore, only 1 to 2 per cent of the children’s parents self-reported about the drug
or alcohol use apparently and it was reported that approximately 4 per cent of the children
were living with a parent who was both drug and alcohol user (McGovern et al. 2018). On the

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other hand, a higher prevalence was reported regarding the parental non-dependent substance
misuse cases and most of the vulnerable families such incidents are mostly reported by the
researchers. Among the vulnerable families, 18 per cent cases of drug misuse and 19 per cent
cases of alcohol misuse were reported by different researchers. As a consequences of this
poor condition of the children, a huge amount of child abuse cases were reported in UK. In
this context, it can be stated that up to 52 per cent cases of child protection cases were
reported in UK and among them 34 per cent cases were reported to be related to the cases of
substance abuse which required social work intervention for improving the substance abuse
cases in the society of UK (McGovern et al. 2018). In various studies it was reported that
parental substance abuse cases were responsible for almost 47 per cent of serious
consequences related to the health of the children or any other serious injury to the children
due to the cases of parental substance abuse. The cases of drug abuse among the parents have
greatly affected the overall development of the children’s health and their overall wellbeing
as well. In this regard it can be stated that due to the substance abuse among the parents the
growth of the children in terms of mental, physical, and psychological development
(Velleman and Templeton, 2016). According to the study of McLaughlin, Campbell, and
McColgan (2016), it is stated that in most of the substance abuse cases, the primary focus is
provided on the single use of substance. However, analysing the overall effect of the
substance misuse on the development of the children, it can be stated that the issue of
substance greatly affects the emotional wellbeing of the children. As per the model of the
United Nations (UN), the family is considered as an individual entity of the society and as per
the policy of the UN, the UN believes the role of family is very important for the wellbeing
of the children in the society as the family members are the primary care givers of the
children. Therefore, cases of the parental substance abuse can excessively curtail the safety of
the children in the society and in this context the issue of safety is portrayed in terms of

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physical and psychological wellbeing of the children. So, it is very important to react to the
conditions in which the wellbeing of the children is altered due to the problem of substance
abuse incidents of the parents. In UK, the government is very is very much active regarding
the safeguarding practices of the children (McGovern et al. 2018).
In various other researches based on the psychological well-being of the children, a
modle named Teratological model can be used and main aim of this model is to examine the
effect of any specific substance abuse cases on the development of the children. As it is quite
natural that in most of the cases the substance abusers use multiple types of drugs or alcohol
and thus the effect of poly-drug emission among the parents are observable for most of the
cases. Therefore, bad effect of the drug use among the parents also can affect the
psychological development of children even during the foetus condition. So, it can be that
use of drugs and alcohol specifically by the mothers during their stage of pregnancy not only
hampers the health conditions of the mothers but also affect the development of the foetus in
terms of physical and psychological development (Beck, Lechner and Schaefer 2017). In
various other studies, it is stated that the use of alcohol by the mothers during their stage of
pregnancy has serious impact on their developing child. While discussing the impact of the
drug misuse on the development of children of those parents who are serial substance abuser,
it can be stated that the those children generally have the problems regarding mental
retardation, growth restrictions are reported by the different authors in various other studies
around the world. The serious impact of the children’s development due to the cases of the
substance abuse among the parents can affect the behaviours and emotional wellbeing of the
children and thus in order to provide a healthy environment to the children during their age of
growth, it is very crucial to address this issue of drug abuse among the parents (Patterson
2016).

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1.2 Relevant Policies
As per the National Children’s Safeguarding Strategy (2020) it is stated that it is the
duty of the government to provide safety to the children of the country and as a part of this
the government must take proper initiatives for overall wellbeing of the children of the
society and it is very important just because of the issue of children safety and rights of the
children of the society. Hence, it can be stated that the application and proper implementation
of this policy is associated with the overall wellbeing of the children of the society (Kelly et
al. 2018).
Recognizing this problem the National Drugs and Safety Strategy 2009-2006
addresses the problem of negative impact of the drug abuse among the parents of the
children. The excessive use of alcohol and drugs within the family has the potential power to
affect their peers and along with this other community members of the society are also
affected by the drug and alcohol abuse. In this context, the children that become hyperactive
population in the society due to the substance misuse by their parents. Therefore it can be
stated that the cases of the substance abuse by the parents not only affects the children
directly but it also affect the children secondarily as well (Kelly et al. 2018). In this context
the study findings of Garbarino (2017), can be mentioned and in the study it was reported
during the development period of the children the society or the environment near the
children is very crucial. So, it can be stated that a bad rearing environment of the children can
impact the children’s development in a negative manner. Hence, it is very important to
provide a safe and secure external environment to the students for the overall growth of the
child.

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1.3 Aims and Objectives
The main aim of this study is to examine the impact of alcohol or drug abuse on the
psychological development of the children.
The objectives of this present study are as follows-
To identify the prevalence of substance misuse by the parents
To examine the specific substance that has direct impact on the psychological
development of the children
To examine the bad effect of substance abuse among the mothers during their
pregnancy in terms of psychological growth of the children.
1.4 Research Question
1) What is the prevalence of substance abuse among the parents?
2) Which substance has the greater impact on the poor psychological development of the
children?
3) How substance abuse during the pregnancy can hamper the growth of the children?
2. Methodology
2.1 Search Strategy
As a part of the search strategy the researchers used various databases for identifying
the literatures and it was ensured by the researchers that the only the studies published in the
English language were included for the final analysis. The studies were selected on the basis
of the several criteria such as quality of the data of the study, quality of the study result,
relevance of the study and the study result, time period of the study that is only those studies
will be considered by the researchers which were published within last 6 years. However, the

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researchers will consider the most recent studies for the final analysis as well. Along with
this, the researchers also ensured the fact that they only selected those articles or studies that
are based on the clinical and psychological condition of the children and their parents as well.
2.2 Search Result
The literature search process was conducted in various data bases such as PubMed,
Medline, PsychInfo, Social Sciences Index, PsycArticles and HeinOnline. During the
literature search process key words like “substance”, “drug”, “abuse”, “misuse of drugs”,
“parental abuse”, “development of children”, “psychological development”, “mental
retardation”, “prenatal substance abuse” were used by the researchers. In some cases, it was
reported that that the researchers were not able to access all the articles and those cases the
researchers excluded those studies for the final analysis of the study. Only the articles that
had the complete access were considered as the final analysis. In this context, it is very
important to mention the fact the research used those reviewed only those articles that
addressed the growth related issue among the children due to the problem of substance abuse
by their parents.
2.3 Review of Literature
As per the report of the Government of UK, it was reported that the issue of parental
alcohol misuse or PAM is one of the serious problem of UK and over the years, this problem
is enhancing the society of the country. Along with this the data also suggested that almost
200,000 children are dependent on the parents who are dependent on the use of alcohol.
Moreover the government data also raised the issue that the issue of PAM has severe impact
on the physical and mental wellbeing of the children in UK (Bradshaw 2016). In this, regard,
it can be stated that those children who are dependent on the alcohol users, have higher risks
of getting affected by adverse incidents in the society. From the studies of different authors, it

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was reported that in UK almost 2-4 per cent of the parents were harmful in nature to their
children due to their nature of excessive drinking of alcohol. According to the study of
Whelan et al. (2014), it was reported that the during the childhood, the cases of PAM can
affect the every day’s life of the children and thereby the physical and mental wellbeing of
the children is also get affected due to this problem of PAM. As consequences of this PAM
among the children, it may possible that the child may experience direct psychological
effects. Along with this, it is also very crucial to mention that the prenatal consumption of
alcohol or other type of drugs can cause such type of problems. However, in most of the
studies the physical growth and related issues are emphasized by the researchers and thus it
can be stated that the issue of psychological impairment among the children due to the cases
of PAM are mostly neglected (Rossow et al. 2016). So, the present research aims to finds the
impact of PAM on the psychological development of the children along with a few other
issues related to the drugs or alcohol exposure of the children due to their parents’ substance
consumption. Not only this, but the level of substance abuse that has the potential ability to
impair the parenting quality is also not clear and thus it is also very crucial to identify the
prevalence and specificity of the drugs that have the highest potential to affect the mental and
psychological wellbeing of the children (Whelan et al. 2014). The data of the UK
government suggested that in the country, approximately 41 per cent of pregnant woman
drink alcohol during the time of pregnancy and in this regard, it can be stated that UK holds
the 5th position among all the European countries in terms of drinking behaviours of the
mothers during the time of pregnancy. In most of the studies regarding the substance use
among the parents it was observed that those studies mainly focus on the physical impairment
of the children (House of Parliament 2018). According to the study of Williams and Smith
(2015), it is stated that during the pregnancy if a mother involves in the substance d abuse or
PAM, the child may be affected by the problems like foetal alcohol spectrum disorders

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(FASD) and cases of foetal alcohol syndrome or FAS are also reported by the researchers.
The data provided by the government of UK, it can be stated that the in the year of 2014-15
almost 276 cases of FAS in England were reported and in case of Wales 2 children of FAS
were diagnosed. The data also suggested that, in the year of 2012 the rate of FASD children
was approximately 32 children per 1000 population and another source of information
reported that the rate was almost 61 children out of 10,000 general population of UK.
Therefore, this disparity in the data provided by the two different sources suggested that there
are huge scopes of performing proper study regarding the bad impact of alcohol abuse by the
parents (House of Parliament 2018). According to the study of Werner and Malterud (2017),
it is stated that the alcohol abuse among the parents can negatively impact the style of
parenting and as a part of this, it is observed that the alcoholic parents are at the high risks for
poor parenting practices and in most of the cases such poor parenting are affecting the
childhood of the children in the society. It is reported that the alcoholic fathers generally
show negative behaviours to their children and as a part of this those fathers shows lower
warmth to their children and along with this they have the higher tendencies to show higher
negative effect during interaction with their children. The study showed that this warmth
behaviour is higher and the negative effects are lower among the fathers without alcohol
misuse cases among them. Moreover, the impact of alcohol misuse among the parents also
had bidirectional influences on the children and it indicated that the children of the alcoholic
parents had the higher possibility to show problematic behaviours and various other mental
health related problems (House of Parliament 2018). However, proper impacts of substance
abuse by the parents on their children still need to be identified. On the other hand, in another
study by Park and Schepp (2015), it is stated that the mothers with alcoholic shows negative
attitudes to their peers as a part of their negative behaviours. Those mothers with alcoholic
partners also showed withdrawal behaviours and lack of emotion towards their peers and

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thereby contradicted the natural maternal behaviours patterns. Therefore, it can be stated that
those mothers had less attachments and interactions towards their toddlers. In this context the
study findings of Hoffmann and Bahr (2014), can be presented in order to support this type of
behaviours showed by the mothers practicing use of substance or having a partner who is a
regular user of drugs or alcohol. This study showed that such kind of behaviours among the
mothers may happen due to the high level of stress in them due to their partners behaviours
and it may possible that their partners’ behaviours split over them and those mothers also act
negatively towards their peers. In another study, it was reported that the cases of alcohol
misuse by the parents are also associated with the issue of lower problem solving capacity
and higher rate of negative behaviours towards their children during the parent- peer
interaction and in case of families who are not in such bad practices, also have higher positive
behaviours towards their children and their problem solving capacity is also very much
higher compared to the substance user families (Maguire et al. 2015).
2.4 Research Gap
Therefore, it can be stated from the above literature review that in most of the studies
the physical growth and related issues are emphasized by the researchers and thus it can be
stated that the issue of psychological impairment among the children due to the cases of PAM
are mostly neglected. So, the present research aims to finds the impact of PAM on the
psychological development of the children along with a few other issues related to the drugs
or alcohol exposure of the children due to their parents’ substance consumption. Moreover,
the level of substance abuse that has the potential ability to impair the parenting quality is
also not clear and thus it is also very crucial to identify the prevalence and specificity of the
drugs that have the highest potential to affect the mental and psychological wellbeing of the
children.