Hiram E. Fitzgerald - Children of Addiction: Research, Health, and Public Policy Issues

Cover

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CHILDREN OF ADDICTION

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RESEARCH, HEALTH, AND PUBLIC POLICY ISSUES

EDITED BY

HIRAM E.FITZGERALD

BARRY M.LESTER

BARRY S.ZUCKERMAN

ROUTLEDGEFALMER
NEW YORK & LONDON/2000

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Published in 2000 by
RoutledgeFalmer
29 West 35th Street
New York, NY 10001

Published in Great Britain by
RoutledgeFalmer
11 New Fetter Lane
London EC4P 4EE

RoutledgeFalmer is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group

This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2002.

Copyright 2000 by Hiram E.Fitzgerald, Barry M.Lester, and Barry S.Zuckerman

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced
or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means,
now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording,
or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publisher.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Children of addiction: research, health, and public policy issues/edited by Hiram E.
Fitzgerald, Barry M.Lester, Barry S.Zuckerman.
p. cm.(Garland reference library of social science; 1486. Source books on
education)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8153-3899-6 (alk. paper)
1. Children of alcoholics. 2. Children of narcotic addicts. 3. Alcoholics
Family relationships. 4. ParentsDrug use. I. Fitzgerald, Hiram E. II. Lester,
Barry M. III. Zuckerman, Barry S. IV. Garland reference library of social
science ; v. 1486. V. Garland reference library of social science. Source books on
education (Unnumbered)
HV5132 .C47 2000
362.29'13dc21
00024777

ISBN 0-203-90460-5 Master e-book ISBN

ISBN 0-203-90461-3 (OEB Format)

ISBN 0-8153-3900-3 (Print Edition)

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Proceedings of the Third Society for Research on Child Development Round Table: Children of Addiction

Alcoholism is the most common form of substance abuse in the United States, with at least 28 million children exposed prenatally or postnatally to alcohol-abusing parents or other caregivers. Of the 7 million children under 18 who are exposed to alcohol, approximately 679,000 are younger than 2 years of age, and 1,555,000 are between 2 and 5 (cf. Fitzgerald, Puttier, Mun, & Zucker, 2000). Recent epidemiological analyses indicate that prevalence for an alcohol dependence diagnosis as defined by the American Psychiatric Associations Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (1994) decreases with age at drinking onset. The later the onset, the less likely that the individual will ever have a diagnosis of alcohol dependence. Prevalence rates have increased in the past decade at the same time that the age of first use has decreased to about 12 (Grant & Dawson, 1997). When one adds prenatal and postnatal exposure to cocaine, opioids, and other drugs into the substance abuse-risk equation, one is forced to conclude that exposure to substance-abusing parents and/or other adults is a setting event that places children at high risk for the intergenerational transmission of substance abuse and related forms of psychopathology (Fitzgerald, Davies, & Zucker, in press; Zucker, Fitzgerald, & Moses, 1995). The third SRCD Round Table brought together individuals from nine major research centers, each of which focuses on some aspect of the intergenerational impact of exposure to substance-abusing parents.