To say that family causes addiction in a person is too simplistic. There are plenty of people with difficult family dynamics who never develop a substance use disorder. But, many of the risk factors that increase the chances that a person will struggle with addiction are related to family and home:
- Family history. This is a big predictor of addiction for several reasons. One is that there are likely genetic components of addiction that are passed down in families. Also, living with or being around someone who uses drugs can cause the kind of instability that may lead to experimentation with drugs.
- An unstable home life or uninvolved parents. When one or more parents use drugs or alcohol, struggles with addiction, fights, is a victim of domestic violence, or has a mental illness, home life can become unstable. This is a risk factor for substance use and addiction, as is having parents who are not involved or having poor attachment to parents.
- The experience of trauma. Traumatic experiences can contribute to later substance use as a coping mechanism, and unfortunately many children undergo trauma in the home. This may be emotional or physical abuse, sexual abuse, or neglect.
- Ongoing stress. Sometimes a family environment causes persistent stress that can’t be classified as trauma. Over time, though, these factors, such as living in poverty, having a parent or sibling with mental illness, having a family member with a serious illness, or moving often can cause enough stress to increase the risk of later addiction.
