By Susan J. Campbell

With the number of adults in the United States dealing with an alcohol or other substance abuse problem, there are bound to be children who are also impacted. According to the Children Living with Substance-Dependent or Substance-Abusing Parents: 2002 to 2007 from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) Report on April 16, 2009, there were more than 8.3 million children under the age of 18 living with at least one parent who was dependent on or abused alcohol in the last year.

Of these children, nearly 7.3 million lived with a parent who was dependent on or abused alcohol. Another 2.1 million lived with a parent who was dependent on or abused illicit drugs. The gender of the parent had an impact on these numbers as well as 5.4 million children under 18 lived with a father who met the criteria for substance dependence or abuse. At the same time, 3.4 million lived with a mother who met this criteria.

The environment that these children actually live in can vary according to the substance of choice and by the individual. However, the effects can range from being minimal to resulting in injuries and deaths related to motor vehicle accidents. Living in this environment can also increase the odds that the child or children will abuse substances or become dependent themselves.

The impact of drug use also varied by age as collected data showed that past year substance dependence or abuse by parents involved nearly 14 percent of children aged 5 years old or younger. This figure was compared with the 12 percent of children in the age range of 6 to 11 and 9.9 percent of youths aged 12 to 17.

In examining the gender of the parent, data collected revealed that 10.2 percent of all children in this age range lived with their father and 5.1 percent of those who lived with their mother. The data also showed that 12.8 percent of children under 18 lived in two-parent households where one or more parents had a substance abuse problem. Overall, it was more likely for father-only households to have a parent abusing alcohol or drugs at 16.1 percent, versus mother-only households at 8.4 percent.

It is clear that living in a household with substance use disorders can have a profound effect on children. The data in this report indicates that more than 1 in 10 children in the United States alone under the age of 18 reside in a home with a substance-dependent or substance-abusing parent. Based on this information alone, programs that are developed to address substance abuse or substance dependence problems should address the needs of the entire family and not just the individual.