Parent Recovery Network (PRN)

Addiction affects the family.

It’s easy to think of the ways drug addiction affects the person using substances. As substance abuse and addiction progresses, the impact only gets worse with time. There can be short- and long-term health effects, loss of jobs, increasing financial troubles, and run-ins with the law. However, people who struggle with substance abuse or addiction are not the only ones who feel the impact. The effects stretch out far beyond the person using substances. Immediate family members are also affected when their loved one has a drug or alcohol problem.​

How Addiction Affects Parents

Parents who have a child with a substance abuse or addiction problem have a unique set of difficulties. They’re constantly plagued by worry about their safety and wellbeing. They may feel responsible for their child’s path and wonder where they went wrong. Being a parent and feeling powerless watching your child suffer is painful. Some parents take on an overbearing and enabling role. This creates an inappropriately dependent relationship as their child grows up. Many try supporting their children financially, hoping they will turn their life around.

How Addiction Affects Siblings

Siblings are sometimes referred to as the “invisible victims.” These siblings feel various emotions like confusion, frustration, shame, resentment, and more. Parents tend to be consumed by the sibling with the substance abuse or addiction problem. Their ongoing and increasing issues draw attention away from the other children. They often end up taking the sidelines. Some siblings take the path of refusing to follow the path their brother or sister took. They see the effects of substance abuse and addiction on their family and refuse to add to the problem. Others also turn to drugs or alcohol, following in their sibling’s footsteps. They use substances either as a way to escape the pain or to draw some of their parents’ attention back to them.