The Transgenerational Effect of Substance Abuse

Using a survey conducted among college students at Andrews University, this study focused on substance use and sexual behaviors of students and the presence of familial substance use problems. Analysis indicated a significant association between substance use problems of fathers and their children’s substance use. There was a stronger statistical association between father’s substance use problems and male children’s alcohol use. In addition there was a significant relationship between grandparents substance use and youth sexual behavior for both genders. There is a need for further analysis of the study. 3 THE TRANSGENERATIONAL EFFECT OF SUBSTANCE ABUSE The Transgenerational Effect of Substance Abuse This study will examine the relationship between the use of a substancesuch as alcohol, marijuana, cocaineby family members and the increased risk of substance use and sexual behaviors by children. Substance abuse has become a serious health concern in America. The National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) (2014) reports that 1,825 students between the ages of 18 and 24 died from unintended alcohol related injuries, 97,000 have been victims of alcohol related sexual assault and 690,000 have been assaulted by someone who has been drinking. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) (2012) reported that prescription drug overdose has become a U.S. epidemic. Since 2003, there have been more deaths related to the use of opioids more than cocaine and heroin combined. In 2007, there was one death attributed to unintentional overdose every 19 minutes. Not only are these substances affecting the persons using them, but they are affecting the tax payers whose money helps pay for programs. Drug addiction alone costs our country over $600 billion each year as relating to crime, health care, and lost work productivity (Rehm et al., 2009; NDIC 2010). Studies have shown that the use of substances by parents not only affect the child’s health, but can also increase his or her risk of substance use. I would like to see if this transmission of risk behavior is visible from one generation to the next. Being able to discover what factors influence the spread of this destructive behavior can guide prevention specialist in developing intervention and cure