The Impact of Parental Substance Abuse and Psychosocial Behaviour of Children in Age Group of 6-12 years: School Based Study

Aim of the study is 1. Find out the extent of reported parental substance abuse 2. Assess the psychosocial development of child 3. Assess the perceived impact of parental substance abuse on psychosocial development of children. Methodology: The study was conducted in the school of Wardha district, Maharashtra, India. Population: School going children of age 6-12yrs and their parents. 200 sample size was selected, each 100 parent and 100 children. Non-probability convenient sampling technique used. A structured questionnaire used for both parent and their children separately. Results: The reported prevalence rate of parental substance abuse as reported by children shows the ratio as: The rate of no substance abusers which scores from 0-12 of frequency (14) is 14%.The rate of Borderline abusers which scores from 13-24 of frequency (23) is 23%. The rate of Mild abusers which scores from 25-36 of frequency (22) is 22%.The rate of Moderate abusers which scores from 37-48 of frequency (23) is 23%.The rate of Severe abusers which scores from 49-60 of frequency (18) is 18%. The reported prevalence rate of parental substance abuse as reported by parent shows the ratio as: The rate of no substance abusers which scores from 0-9 of frequency (6) is 6%. The rate of Borderline abusers which scores from 10-18 of frequency (24) is 24%. The rate of Mild abusers which scores from 19-27 of frequency (28) is 28%. The rate of Moderate abusers which scores from 28-36 of frequency (18) is 18%. The rate of Severe abusers which scores from 37-44 of frequency (26) is 26%. Psychosocial behaviour of children which reveals that most of the children will act as crying or will get angry which is an age appropriate behaviour.

ACEs in Early Childhood: Effects of Parental Substance Abuse on Socioemotional Development and Ways to Administer Quality Education to Children with ACEs

The current study focuses on the effects of parental substance abuse within the home environment and the resulting outcome for early childhood development in socioemotional skills and learning potential in educational, emotional, and social realms. Impaired neurological/brain development, cognitive functioning delays, and lack of proper practice with social cues (particularly in areas concerning synaptogenesis) are assessed in terms of systematic setbacks and barriers in childhood education. Further, this study considers strategies for combatting these impediments and proposes a plan for schools to implement in order to administer higher quality education to children with adverse experiences.

Meeting the Needs of Families Involved in the Child Welfare System for Parental Substance Abuse: Outcomes From an Effectiveness Trial of the Families Actively Improving Relationships Program

Limited evidence-based practices exist to address the unique treatment needs of families involved in the child welfare system with parental substance abuse. Specifically, parental opioid and methamphetamine abuse have increased over the last decade, with associated increases of families reported to the child welfare system. The Families Actively Improving Relationships (FAIR) program was developed to address the complexities of these families. Evidence-based strategies to address the interrelated needs of parents—including substance abuse and mental health treatment, parent skills training, and supportive case management to improve access to ancillary needs—are integrated in an intensive community outpatient program. This study examined the clinical effectiveness of FAIR when delivered in a Medicaid billable outpatient clinic. Parents (n = 99) were randomized either to the immediate FAIR condition or to the Waitlist (WL) condition, using a dynamic wait-listed design, with all parents provided the opportunity to eventually receive FAIR. Outcomes show statistically and clinically significant reductions in parental opioid and methamphetamine use, mental health symptoms, and parenting risk, and improvements in stability in parents receiving FAIR. Providing services to families who require travel in excess of 20 miles for sessions has challenging implications for program costs under a Medicaid structure. Study outcomes highlight the need for policies to support funding of intensive family-based programs.

Enhancing Permanency in Children and Families (EPIC): a child welfare intervention for parental substance abuse

Background Across Ohio, parental substance abuse has contributed to a marked increase in the number of children in foster care. Children exposed to parental substance use have a higher likelihood of physical abuse and neglect, and consequently a variety of physical, psychological and cognitive problems. The Enhancing Permanency in Children and Families (EPIC) program is a collaborative effort between the Ohio State University College of Social Work, two county offices of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, two juvenile courts and local behavioral health agencies. The goal of EPIC is to use three evidence-based and evidence-informed practices to reduce abusive and neglectful parenting, reduce addiction severity in parents, and improve permanency outcomes for families involved with the child welfare system due to substance abuse. Methods EPIC is a quasi-experimental study. Under the program, child welfare-involved adults who screen positive for substances are matched with a peer recovery supporter. Participants are also incentivized to participate in family treatment drug court, medications for opioid use disorders and home-based parenting supports. Participating adults (N = 250) are matched with comparison groups from counties participating in a separate intervention (Ohio START) and to those receiving treatment as usual, resulting in a final sample of 750 adults. Primary outcomes including addiction severity, child trauma symptoms, resilience, and attachment are assessed at baseline and at program completion. Additional outcomes include timely access to treatment services, length of placement in out-of-home care and recidivism into the child welfare system. Discussion This intervention formalizes cross-system collaboration between child welfare, behavioral health and juvenile courts to support families affected by addiction. The use of three evidence-based or evidence-informed strategies presents the opportunity to determine specific strategies that are most effective for reducing addiction severity. Lastly, the intervention combines several sources of funding to bolster sustainability beyond the life of the Regional Partnership Grant (RPG). Trial registration NCT04700696. Registered January 7, 2021-retrospectively registered.

Barriers by professionals in primary care in discussing children of substance abusing parents

Background Children of substance abusing parents are more at risk to develop addiction or psychiatric problems than children of healthy parents. It is therefore important to detect in an early stage, which consequences the problems of the parents might have on the child. Previous research shows that within addiction care children of substance abusing parents are not always in the picture. However for early detection it is at least as important to discuss the influence of parental substance abuse on the children in primary care: early detection of problems in children contributes in starting prevention or treatment programs in a timely manner, so that the chance that a child grows up safely will increase. Aim To gain insight in the barriers of professionals working in primary care and public health in bringing up the topic of children in a conversation with substance abusing parents. Methods A qualitative design was used. 15 interviews have been conducted with participants consisting of primary care and public health professionals in the Netherlands. By discussing several themes, information on the barriers experienced by the professionals were obtained, written down and analyzed. Results The results are being analyzed at this moment, but will be ready to present at the congres in November. The interviews will show which barriers are experienced by the participants. Based on literature the expectation is that the barriers can be divided in three categories: barriers on the content of care, moral dilemma’s and organizational barriers. Conclusions The results of this study will provide insight in the barriers of professionals in primary and public health on discussing the circumstances of children of substance abusing parents. Knowing these barriers might serve as input for interventions to remove these barriers and for recommendations to improve so that children of substance abusing parents receive (preventive) care earlier. Key messages Gain insight in barries of professionals in primary care and public health on discussing circumstances of children of substance abusing parents. input for interventions so that children of substance abusing parents receive care earlier.

PARENTING ALL OVER AGAIN : HISPANIC “ABUELITAS” RAISING GRANDCHILDREN IN THE CONTEXT OF SUBSTANCE ABUSE DISORDERS

Around 7 million grandparents in the U.S live with grandchildren under 18 and 39% have primary caregiving responsibilities. In Texas, more than 313,499 children under age 18 live with a grandparent who is responsible for them. Hispanic grandparents are disproportionately more likely to care for grandchildren compared to non-Hispanic whites. In San Antonio, Texas, 36.6 % of grandparents are the primary caregivers for their grandchildren. Parental substance abuse disorders have been identified as one of the causes prompting child removal from parental custody. To understand the experience of custodial Hispanic grandmothers raising their grandchildren, three focus groups were conducted in English and Spanish by three bilingual investigators. Twenty-three grandmothers, mean age 60, caring for an average of 3.2 children, 2 months to 17 years of age participated in the focus groups. The narratives were transcribed and analyzed in the source language. The following overarching themes were identified: Family is family, parenting all over again, this is a struggle but a blessing, what did I do wrong? , fear of losing the children to foster care, I do not trust anybody with my children, financial and legal challenges, role captivity, aging as a limitation, and hope for the future. The findings from the study contribute to the body of knowledge necessary to foster urgent policy changes aimed at supporting these grandparents who feel unjustly treated by human services agencies and the legal system. Programs to support custodial Hispanic grandmothers need to be linguistically congruent and culturally competent.

The Impact of Parental Substance Abuse on Children

Substance abuse is a difficult situation for anyone to deal with, but the problem is compacted when children are involved. Parents who are substance abusers may knowingly or unknowingly be causing a number of problems for their child. Substance abuse in a parent can lead to child abuse and neglect. A child can develop anxiety; this can include overachievement, constant need to please others, fear of harm coming to the family, and concern about getting home on time. Children can experience depression including symptoms like fatigue, listlessness, and no interest in pleasurable activities. For a child with a parent who abuses drugs or alcohol, there is a strong likelihood they will experience psychosomatic illness and complaining often about not feeling well. The child may also show behaviours evident of regression, including thumb-sucking, enuresis and infantile behaviour. Phobias can occur, which sometimes are about attending school. Some additional effects on a child can include low self-esteem and social isolation. These can encompass difficulty making decisions, self put downs, reluctance to try new activities, keeping to one's self, no friends and avoiding peer contact. This chapter aims to describe and increase awareness of the harmful effects of parental substance abuse on children. Therefore, the trends in substance abuse are being discussed to give the reader an understanding of the widespread and complex social phenomenon and the ones most affected; the children.