Effects Of Drug Abuse Financially

The effects of drugs on family relationships are both direct and indirect. Many families have split or broken due to drug usage. It is not only the individual but the whole family has to pay the price.Addiction is expensive and can cause a lot of harm too. Most people do not realize the true cost of addiction because it is a slow dangerous drain on finances, friendships, careers and ultimately life itself. We all should know about the economics of addiction to understand how substance abuse will impact our financial health for years to come.

Substance abuse by family members can have a substantial negative effect on the financial viability. Often many people may spend money allocated for food or clothing for children on drugs. Substance abusers may divert money from rent or mortgages to buy substances.

The effects of substance abuse frequently extend beyond the nuclear family. Extended family members may experience feelings of abandonment, anxiety, fear, anger, concern, embarrassment, or guilt; they may wish to ignore with the person abusing substances. Some family members even may feel the need for legal guard from the person abusing substances. Moreover, the effects on families may continue for generations.

Intergenerational effects of substance abuse can have a negative impact on role modeling, trust, and perception of normative behavior, which can damage the relationships between generations. For example, a child with a parent who abuses substances may grow up to be an overprotective and controlling parent who does not allow his or her children sufficient independence.

Neighbors, friends, and coworkers also experience the effects of substance abuse because a person who abuses substances often is undependable. Friends may be asked to help financially or in other ways. Coworkers may be forced to compensate for decreased productivity or carry an uneven share of the workload. As a consequence, they may resent the person abusing substances.

People who abuse substances are likely to find themselves increasingly isolated from their families. Often they prefer associating with others who abuse substances or contribute in some other form of antisocial activity. These associates support and strengthen each other's behavior.

Diverse treatment issues appear based on the age and role of the person who uses substances in the family and on whether small children or adolescents are present. In some cases, a family might present a healthy face to the community while substance abuse issues lie just below the surface.

In addition to personal hardship, the abuse of alcohol and other drugs by youth may result in family crises and put at risk many aspects of family life, sometimes resulting in family dysfunction. Both siblings and parents are deeply affected by alcohol- and drug-involved youth. Substance abuse can drain a family's financial and emotional resources.



The social and economic costs linked to youth substance abuse are elevated. They result from the financial losses and anguish suffered by alcohol- and drug-related crime victims, increased burdens for the support of adolescents and young adults who are not able to become self-supporting, and greater demands for medical and other treatment services for these youth. Thus it is best to avoid this than suffer later when it is too late.

• Juliana Breckinridge
• 26/04/2009, 2:59 PM
• 0 Comments