Numbers of Children o Substance abusing parents

Almost 1 in 3 children live with a binge drinking parent. Widespread patterns of binge drinking and recreational drug use have resulted in higher numbers of children in the UK than previously thought being exposed to sub-optimal care and substance-using role models.

This is the conclusion of a new study to estimate the numbers of children aged under 16 exposed to parental substance abuse.* Deriving estimates from UK national household surveys of alcohol and drug use and the prevalence of psychological disorders, the researchers calculate that around 700,000 children live with a parent who is dependent on alcohol, and up to 3.6 million with at least one parent who is a binge drinker. Just under 1 million children live with a parent who has used an illegal drug during the last 12 months.

The detailed estimates are shown in the box below. However, the researchers say that the situation is not universally bleak, despite these figures. Research findings also indicate that the most high-risk drug-taking behaviours tend to exist among parental substance misusers physically separated from their children, thus eliminating direct negative effects. Moreover, while parental substance misuse can impair parenting capacity, harm is not inevitable and indeed, the authors say, rarely exists in isolation from other factors such as poverty, social exclusion, poor housing and family tension.

Alcohol: 3.3 - 3.5 million (30% of total) in the UK live with at least one binge drinking parent 8% (978000) with two binge drinkers 4% (500000) with one binge drinking parent 2.6 million live with a ‘hazardous’ drinker 6% (705000) with an alcohol dependent drinker Drugs: 978000 (8%) lived with at least one adult who had used illegal drugs during that year 2% (256000) with class A drug user 7% (873000) live with a Class C drug user 335000 live with a drug dependent parent 72000 live with an injecting drug user 72000 live with a drug user in treatment 108000 live with an adult who had overdosed Alcohol and Drugs: 3.6% (430000) lived with a problem drinker who also took drugs 4% (500000) lived with a parent who had alcohol problems coexisting with other mental health problems

*Manning, V et al 09; New estimates of the number of children living with substance misusing parents: results from UK national household surveys: BMC Public Health 2009, 9:377