CHICAGO (Reuters) – more one in 10 American children living with an alcoholic parent and greater risk of developing a number of health problems, according to a new study by the Government published on Thursday.
Researchers of the administration of services for Mental Health and substance abuse (SAMHSA for its acronym in English) analyzed data from the 2005 to 2010 in a national poll and found that, on average, 7.5 million children were living with a father who had abused alcohol any of those years.
This figure amounts to about 10.5 per cent of the population younger than 18 years in the country.
The authors of the report found that the majority of these children on average 6.1 million each year, lived in households with both parents where one or adults suffered from a disorder linked to alcohol consumption.
1.4 Million children living in households with a father where the adult had problems with alcoholism, in the overwhelming majority – 1.1 million – was only families chaired by a woman, SAMHSA said.
The experts pointed out that children living with alcoholic people were at greater risk of suffering a number of problems of mental health, including depression and anxiety.
Children were also more likely to be abused or rejected by their parents, more likely to have cognitive deficiencies or language, and four times aimed to develop problems with alcohol themselves, the researchers added.
(Report of James B. Kelleher); (Edited by Ana Laura Mitidieri in Spanish)
