Effects on children and families

Effects on children as they mature

The evidence indicates that children in families where at least one parent misuses alcohol are more likely to experience the following:-

Friendship difficulties (social isolation)
As they cannot predict how things will be at home, the presence, mood and behaviour of their parents, children from these families will avoid inviting friends back. In turn this makes it hard to accept invitations and the child may avoid developing and or deepening friendships for these types of reasons.

Division between home and peers (avoidance)
As a child grows older they may deal with the problem by keeping their home and their social life very separate. Whilst this may well work, enabling a child to have a social life and develop a life away from the family, it carries its own difficulties and stresses and is likely to mean that parents will know even less about the child’s non-home life.

Leaving home early (avoidance)

Earlier marriages (avoidance)

Prescribed psychoactive drugs
Children have higher rates of depression and mental illness and are more likely to be prescribed psychoactive drugs than children from families where alcohol misuse is not an issue.

Drinking alcohol / taking drugs
Children from these families are likely to start drinking and/or drug taking earlier than other children.

Involvement with 'semi-deviant' sub-culture

To protecting against long term harm section