Abuse, Abuse, and More Abuse

What I liked most about this article was the fact that it tied in with the material I had actually been learning in class. This article talked about how, throughout society, substance abuse intertwines with poverty and child abuse. I enjoyed that the article talked about substance abuse and poverty along with substance abuse and child abuse, and also provides some solutions to both.

The article made a very valid point that just because people are in poverty does not mean that they do drugs, but one reason they may be in poverty could be because of an addiction to drugs. This addiction will cause people to lose their jobs and lose their families. But a big misconception about people in poverty is that they all use drugs or have some type of substance abuse problem. I myself have lived in poverty my entire life with a single father but never because of drug addictions. That goes to show that just because a family lives in poverty does not necessarily mean there is a substance addiction that led to that family relying on government and state funds.

Another huge thing that this article talked about was just how much these substance abusers do more than abuse drugs but abuse their children as well and even mentally abuse themselves from these addictions. The fact that these drugs alter a person’s mind and mood shows most within their family first. If there are children involved they will be the first to get the wrath of their parent’s addictions especially if they are unable to get their addicton dose. According to the article, “children that grow up with an abusive addict for a parent are more likely to have poor self-image, self-destructive behaviors, hidden fear, and greater risk of substance abuse themselves someday”.

This can lead to a cycle that just like poverty happens every day, and unless there is some type of worldwide illegalization against these drugs and just completely banned there will always be a demand for these products which ultimately leads to the supply.

Getting Help and Staying Clean

In this new and exciting installment of P.A.S.A, I will continue to analyze the article from kidshealth.org.

After recognizing that you or someone you know is facing an addiction problem, the fact that you recognize this is the first step to getting help. Many drug or alcohol abusers believe that they can end their addiction on their own but sadly, this seldom occurs. The best solution is to find someone to talk to. Find someone that is supportive and understanding and will help you without judging you. Though this helps, overcoming an addiction is not easy. Addictions are so hard to break because as I mentioned in an earlier post, both your body and mind become addicted to the substance. This makes it extremely difficult to end the cycle. Many people need professional help or treatment programs to end the addictions and this is both normal and healthy.

The article mentions a few tips for recovery that include telling your friends about your decision to stop using drugs. This means that you may need to find a new group of friends that will support you and your decisions. Also, ask your friends (new friends if necessary) and family members to be available when you need them. This might be in the middle of the night or during the last few minutes of a football game, but if you are going through a rough time and need someone, they need to understand what you are going through and realize that helping you beat your drug addiction is more important than a lot of other things. When someone is trying to beat a drug addiction, just knowing that they are supported and loved makes the breaking process easier and more likely to occur.

Most people do not realize that beating a drug addiction is a lifelong process. Every day is a new battle between satisfying a craving or staying clean. Some people who have beaten their addictions find it beneficial to help others beat their addictions. Their understanding of the recovery process helps support other people’s battles with addictions.

And above all else, as the article says, “if you do have a relapse, don’t ever be afraid to ask for help”!!!

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

The article I chose to talk about for my third blog was written by Yasmin Rammohan from the “Chicago Tonight: WTTW), the piece titled “Pregnancy and Alcohol”. The main discussion was brought up from the book, “The Mystery of Risk: Drugs, Alcohol, Pregnancy and the Vulnerable Child” written by author (and the head local physicians) Dr. Ira Chasnoff. The main focus of the book and the discussion with in the article is Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and how it affects the children through the toxins from the drugs and alcohol consumed by the mother’s in these particular cases, along with neglect and trauma the children are exposed to because of it. The many different risks of fetal alcohol syndrome were discussed throughout the article. Within the article posted online, there are also two videos shown of Dr. Chasnoff himself.

The first video is of Dr. Chasnoff discussing different signs and symptoms you can look for in children. According to this video, the three main criteria he says to look for are, “poor growth, deficits in nervous system, and changes in the in the structure of the facial features” (Chasnoff). It is stated that children are very well susceptible to suffer from issues such as damage to their “developing nervous system” (Rammohan), according to the first video with Dr. Chasnoff, these are also the children that seem to be normal when looking for these three major symptoms, but at the same time they are also more at risk as far as developing behavioral problems and other things of that nature.

"This damage may lead to learning and memory deficiencies, and behavioral problems, from temper tantrums in early childhood to acts of physical and sexual violence in later adolescence” (Rammohan).

After talking about the different risks of fetal alcohol syndrome, Dr. Chassnoff also mentioned, within his book, how ““risk is not destiny” (Chassnoff) for those children. He discusses how they can come out of these situations through “alternatives” that help the children such as giving them a successful school experiences, getting them away from negative situations like gang activity and drug abuse. All of this can happen with help and investment from others in their society in some cases. Even though examples weren’t given in the article, I feel that solutions such as getting them in better families and better environmental situations would tremendously improve these children’s lives.

In the second video within the article, Dr. Chassnoff discusses more in detail about the book, “The Mystery of Risk: Drugs, Alcohol, Pregnancy and the Vulnerable Child”. In one of the statistics he states that “20-30 percent of woman use substances during their pregnancy”. This statistic is rather shocking to me and shows how horrible of a problem it is! He also discusses the “nature vs. nurture” effects to children that have been exposed to substances such as alcohol, and how the environment can help change the long term outcome of a child suffering from fetal alcohol syndrome. Throughout the rest of the second video there were comments from different readers/critics expressing how they felt, all which seemed to be fond of Dr. Chassnoff’s work.

It brings to your attention the number of families that are affected by fetal alcohol syndrome and other situations similar to it. Not only is this the problem of several families, but also discussing how we all, as ‘society’, (knowing it is a social problem) can possibly help this situation would be a great improvement in any way. Even though this wasn’t written by a local author, these cases are still happening all throughout the country, world, etc. and can definitely affect us all in one way or another.

Unsuspected influence on teenage alcohol consumption

Ask a parent whom they believe that largest source of peer pressure on the teen comes from and you will find they place the blame on best friends and girlfriends or boyfriends.  In an article recently posted in the Los Angeles time, research shows that another group of people have a larger impact on the likelihood of a teen consuming alcohol.


The best friends of a teens significant other is shown to be the biggest influence in a teens alcohol consumption according to a study done by the American Sociological Review.

"A friend's recent history of binge drinking increased a child's likelihood of doing the same (over and above his or her established drinking patterns) by 30%. And romantic partners mattered too: If the guy or girl  your kid likes has recently gotten blasted, your kid was 32% more likely than he or she already was to binge-drink too."

While this article was printed in the L.A. it holds truth to teen parents across the country.  It challenges the typical point of view parents hold about their teenagers friends and encourages them to turn their eyes to another source of influence.

Problematic Parents

The article, Children of Addicted Parents, from hopenetworks.org, gives information and statistics about children living in homes with addicted parents. One interesting thing mentioned is that alcoholism and other drug addictions have been known to run in families. This is because children of addicted parents are at a higher risk for drug abuse than other children. This connection between a child’s drug use in relation to their parents’ drug use is because of genetic factors and because of the influences of the parents’ attitudes towards drug use.

Addicted parents are often unable to provide the structure and discipline needed by children. The children in these families are often surrounded by increased family conflict involving emotional or physical violence. Many of these children are taken away from their addicted parents and forced into foster care as a way to protect them. This detachment from their parents frequently results in symptoms of depression and anxiety and the children often have anger issues because they feel abandoned.

If a child stays in the home with addicted parents, they commonly experience greater physical and mental health problems which lead to higher health and welfare costs. These children also have high rates of behavior problems because they often “act out” for attention or end up addicted to drugs themselves because they were not taught to avoid drugs.

The article has many statistics to support its statements, but since statistics can easily be misleading, I did not include them. The article itself can be found in its entirety here.

Substance Abuse vs. Substance Addiction; What’s the Difference?

In an article from kidshealth.org, readers are informed on what exactly substance abuse and substance addictions are and the differences between the two. There is a very fine line between substance abuse and addiction. Many people refer to substance abuse as “casual” or “social” drug use. These terms refer to instances when people use drugs to fit in in certain situations. Addictions begin as abuse but become addictions when the user develops a need for the drug.

Addictions do not just occur with drugs or alcohol, but people may also become addicted to medications, cigarettes, or glue. Some substances, like crack or heroin, are more addictive than others and may only take one use before the user develops a need. These addictions can be physical, psychological, or both.

When a person’s body becomes dependent on a substance, they are physically addicted. This means that they begin to build up a tolerance to that substance. This tolerance then leads to that person needing larger doses, as time goes on, to receive the same effects that the first-time-use created.

A psychological addiction is when the cravings for a drug are emotional or psychological. These people feel overwhelmed by the desire to have a drug, rather than the dependency. These individuals often lie or steal to satisfy the cravings of their addiction.

The common and obvious sign of an addiction is the need of a person to continue to use a specific substance. Other, less common, signs of a possible addiction include changes in mood, weight loss or gain, depression, or eating disorders. Physical signals of substance addiction include changes in sleeping patters, and feeling shaky or sick when trying to stop. Psychological signals include using drugs or alcohol as a way to relax, withdrawal from family and friends, loss of interests in what used to be important activities, mood swings, or anxiety and anger.

If you recognize these signs in yourself or of a friend/family member please seek help quickly. Early help leads to an easier recovery.

More information on Getting Help, Tips for Recovery, and Staying Clean will be given next week.

DSS in Trouble?

The article I chose to talk about for my second blog was written by Cliff Leblanc in the “State” newspaper titled “On drugs Children at mercy of parents”. The main arguments were the fact of when DSS workers should be punished for not having children out of these homes. One of the statements made in the article was, “At least five children have died and others are in danger unless the Department of Social Services removes children more quickly from homes where parents have drug abuse problems, according to the state’s Child Fatalities Review Committee.” It was also said that the caseworkers have to make sure it is a safe facility before letting the children go back into the home. Even though it is a requirement, I definitely feel this should go without saying.

Throughout the article there are people like the DSS director Kathleen Hayes and one of the children protection supervisors at DSS headquarters, Pamela Rice. Kathleen was discussing that she was upset about the cases and was saying how she hoped none of it was caused by DSS employees. Rice had made a few comments earlier throughout different conversations about the issue like, “She has known people who smoke (marijuana) and other drugs that can still take care of their children.” Even though she did apologize for these statements and does agree about children needing to be taken out of that kind of environment, she was not able for an interview.

As far as the DSS workers not caring about the children’s safety, the statement Richland County forensic pathologist made was that "It’s not that they don’t care, the problem is there are still lapses in judgment or common sense." Others like former South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford also agree that no matter how serious this case is, children should be removed no questions asked. According to the article, in the year 2009 (when this article was written), there were 4,000 DSS employees that are also dealing with other issues like well-fare and child support, not including the caseworkers and other employees working on cases like these with their limited budget of 1.2 billion that was cut $229 million in that year. This is definitely a huge social issue affecting many families not just locally but all around, and definitely needs all the support and help it can get.