April 26, 2022
By Joshua Ormaza
Staff Writer
Abuse, depression, mental health issues, underdeveloped social skills and even suicide are among the challenges faced by children who grow up with alcoholic parents. They are forced to endure confusion, fear and uncertainty because of their parent’s addiction. This is why Alcohol Awareness Month, which is recognized in April, is such an important occasion. It raises awareness about the destructive effects of alcoholism.
According to the National Association for Children of Alcoholics, around 30 million people have been born to an alcoholic parent. While both male and female children suffer because of the abuse from alcoholic fathers, male children are more likely to take on antisocial personality traits as a result. Male children of alcoholic fathers are also most at risk for developing later problems with substance abuse than are female children of alcoholic fathers.
Alcoholic parents sometimes do not realize the damage they are causing to their child’s mental health, and one of the most common and detrimental effects of growing up with alcoholic parents is depression.
By lacking a safe environment in which to grow up, children of alcoholic parents experience behavior and mood changes. Depression can lead children to take drastic actions that include self-harm and suicide. The effects of depression are long-lasting, and it takes a long time for these children to recover.
Alcoholic parents sometimes do not realize the damage they are causing to their child’s mental health, and one of the most common and detrimental effects of growing up with alcoholic parents is depression.
Furthermore, having alcoholic parents can affect a child’s performance in school and lead a child to feel they need to grow up quickly and get a job instead of focusing on their schoolwork and developing meaningful friendships with classmates.
Even if a child knows their parent’s alcoholism is harmful, they still may be seeking their parent’s and may go on to mimic their destructive behavior. Furthermore, approximately 50% of alcoholism is attributed to genetics, so these children are more at risk of becoming alcoholics themselves.
Those who suffer from this addiction or know someone who does should not hesitate to contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration National Helpline. While alcoholism is a serious addiction, there is help available for those in need.
