2/17/12: 1 In 10 US Children has Alcoholic Parent
More than one in 10 U.S. children live with an alcoholic parent and are at increased risk of developing a host of health problems of their own, according to a new government study released on yesterday.
Researchers at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration analyzed national survey data from 2005 through 2010 and found that, on average, 7.5 million children — about 10.5 percent of the country’s under-18 population — lived with a parent abusing alcohol during any given year.
The researchers said children living with alcoholics were at greater risk of suffering from a number of mental health problems, including depression and anxiety. The children were also more likely to be abused or neglected by and four times more likely to develop alcohol problems of their own.