Thursday, July 16, 2009

Will substance abuse throughout someone's lifetime effect the health of their children

Will substance abuse throughout someone's lifetime effect the health of their children?
I was wondering If a mothers and/or father's abuse of drugs and/or alcohol throughout their lifetimes can effect the health of their children? (Keeping in mind that the mother would not smoke, drink, or use drugs throughout the actual pregnancy) Will the parent's substance abuse induce psychology and emotional problems such as ADHD, depression, Bipolar disorder ect in their children. Will substance abuse effect the quality of the genetic makeup carried in the sperm and eggs somehow? Advice as well as links and statistics would be useful. Thanks.
Mental Health - 2 Answers
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1 :
Sorry I don't have any links for you but I did read a very interesting medical study a few years ago about chronic alcoholism in the father causing a higher incidence of autism in his children than the general healthy population. So, its not just the mother's healthy while carrying the fetus. There is an actual study about how the dna of male sperm is affected by alcoholism, drug abuse and exposure to harmful chemicals over a lifetime.
2 :
If the mother does not use during her pregnancy then the child should be fine physically. Bipolar disorder is genetic so the use of drugs by the parents will have no effect negative or positive on the development of Bipolar. However...... parents who abuse drugs and alcohol do not make very good parents (parents who PREVIOUSLY used drugs and alcohol are a bit better). Children are neglected and often emotionally or physically abused... this can lead to the development of all sorts of disorders from personality disorders to anxiety disorders...... Bipolar and Schizophrenia are genetic so they will develop independent of home life. Any other mental health issue can be caused by environment. Addiction is also an inherited trait...... parents can pass a tendancy to be an addict to their children. Doesn't mean that the children will automatically be addicts but it means that they will be more likely to be addicts than the standard population.

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