Dangers of Children with Drug-Using ProblemsThroughout the textbook that we are reading, thus far it has been prevalent that children in the homes of substance users/abusers are in danger emotionally, physically, and mentally. However, so far in our text, there has been nothing to indicate the dangers that surround those children with drug-using parents, fathers in particular. It is very interesting to take note of how children with specifically drug-using fathers are affected by their drug use and not just the children, but also the entire household of the drug-using father. The study that was done to test the attachment style of parents as well as their cohesion and adaptability was a fascinating story in a number of ways. The sole fact that fathers were the main subjects, the participants that way being studied and their culture, and the entire outcome of the study were all very interesting findings. The results were indeed very unpredictable.
To begin, those who were involved in the study of drug-using fathers and the parent’s within that household’s attachment and adaptability styles, were Israeli. I enjoy that the fact that thus far, this textbook has considered different subjects in all of their topics presented. The textbook has “thought outside of the box” in every possible aspect in my opinion, and for that I am grateful for it allows the reader to break mental and tangible stereotypes that may have been formed by the society at large. This study was not “typical” or stereotypical in their subject usage and this helps to broaden horizons and expand one’s knowledge base. Using Israeli’s, as a subject was interesting, as I personally do not think that people think about non-Americans having issues such as drug abuse or use. I greatly appreciate being introduced to another culture’s problems that I would normally only associate with a select group of people. The text bringing awareness is a very important aspect at this point.
Discovering different styles of attachment from both parents and children was very interesting as well as important to the study that was done. Attachment is the core bond that explains relationships between parents, children, and their emotional and social development. The type of attachment that parents have will dictate the way in which care and protection is supplied in the family and the household. Attachment styles are also indicative of marital relations as well as the way in which parents behave towards their children. The attachment styles that were explained, secure, avoidant, and anxious/ambivalent, all make sense in how explanations and in the ways that they affect parents and children. Those with a secure attachment style are confident with great social skills and are able to handle stressful situations with care. Those with am anxious/ambivalent attachment style are emotionally dependent, have anxiety problems, and are easily irritated
MATERIALS AND METHODS:
Study design: The study included 2105 students enrolled in the Canadian Center for Research on the Child and Family Studies (CRCES) at 12 colleges in the Northwest Territories (the Nootka River School District, the Ogoniland School District, the Gadsden & Bloor Cottages and the Hartsville School District, and the Northwest Territories College of Social and Environmental Medicine). These schools were the two largest schools with a median enrollment of 17,200 students. We analyzed the association between attachment styles and the prevalence of anxiety (defined as a child’s ability to assess anxiety levels as if they had “bad or neutral” feelings about others. This was accomplished through random-recruitment, telephone questions, and interviews. The study was also conducted in conjunction with an ongoing group research project in a research building at BC General Centre of Excellence in Health Sciences.
TIMELINE:
A survey of students at the two colleges found, “In the third quarter of 2010 in the GADS study, 9.6% of students who had no attachment style (strong attachment and aggressive or negative) completed the Hartsville and Ogoniland surveys.” This was the same size cohort study as the Canadian Center for Research on the Child and Family Studies study. The number of students who chose to be agnostic or not to be agnostic increased with years of study. The percentage saying they are agnostic increased slightly in the Gadsden and Bloor surveys when compared with the Nootka River study, while the number saying they are agnostic had a significant increase in the Gadsden survey after adjusting for the other two surveys. The same results did not include the three surveys of students at each school. All students from the Nootka River school district (including those who attended at least one school of higher education in the Northwest Territories in the time we used data from the Nootka River Study) had lower average scores. The number of respondents who reported being “strong or aggressive or negative” increased for each education in each education category while the percentage expressing “strong” or “negative” reported that they were agnostic was not different for students with any of their schools. All school reports were from the three main types of surveys: The Canadian Center for Research on the Child and Family Sciences, the Northwest Territories College of Social and Environmental Medicine, and the Canadian Center for Research on Health Sciences.
METHODS:
We randomly selected 10,005 participants from the Nootka River School District (NTSCD) and 12,750 NNTCD students from the Northwest Territories (NTSCDGHS). We assessed the quality of attachment and stress responses to this type of study. Respondents also made standardized assessments of psychological functioning and health. The NNTCDGHS students who received positive ratings on measures of psychological functioning and quality of attachment were able to get help from their parents and social care providers. They were able to attend school at least once a year and had healthy eating habits and physical activity.
RESULTS:
Students enrolled at the two SCCs were more likely to be agnostic, with a higher percentage expressing a strong attachment style (52.3% vs. 33.7%), aggressive or negative (50.4%) and moderate agnostic (51.2% vs. 48.1%) than students who did not attend any of the 3 schools. Both NNTCDGHS and NNTCDGHSGHSGHS were also able to get help from their parents who lived in their area and had positive attitudes toward family-related problems. Participants attending each school in the Nootka River School District had significantly shorter average follow-up times than those attending the Nootka River School District and NNTCDGHSGHS alone