Julia Hood Capstone

While many people are starting to bring addiction to light, the effect on those close to people addicted is still a viewpoint that is not frequently shown. I wanted to focus on the effect addiction has on people around those addicted. I conducted interviews with multiple people who have had people close to them suffer from addiction, ranging from family to friends. After struggling to find a way to present these things in the honest way that they were presented to me while making it relatable to people who have not experienced these things. I realized that a way to make it relatable to everyone is to not place people’s full stories out there, but to bring out bits and pieces that have the potential to resonate with people. To do that I took some of the quotes that resonated the most with me and that I felt like would resonate the most with others and made posters with them on them and hung them around SLA. Overall, this was a lot harder than I had anticipated. Talking about such a sensitive topic is hard for a lot of people, especially when they know it may be made public in some way. I found that the best way to deal with that was to ensure anonymity as well as ensure that their stories were something that I truly cared about and wanted to shed light on in a more positive way.

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"Chapter 1: Why Is Early Childhood Important To Substance Abuse Prevention?." Drugabuse.gov. N. p., 2019. Web. 25 Jan. 2019.

https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/principles-substance-abuse-prevention-early-childhood/chapter-1-why-early-childhood-important-to-substance-abuse-prevention

A substance abuse guide that was made by the National Institute on Drug Abuse that talks about how early childhood can affect a person’s likelihood to become addicted in the future. It also talks about how exposure to different things can affect addiction issues in the future. This is important because a lot of children who grow up with people who are close to them addicted or abusing substances it becomes something that is “normal” to them and makes them more likely to have their own substance abuse and addiction problems as they get older.


Coyer, Sharon. 2001. "Mothers Recovering From Cocaine Addiction: Factors Affecting Parenting Skills". Journal Of Obstetric, Gynecologic, & Neonatal Nursing.

https://www.jognn.org/article/S0884-2175(15)33868-5/pdf

This clinical study done by Sharon Coyer in JOGNN, the Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, and Neonatal Nursing, studies mothers who are recovering from cocaine addiction. It talks about how addiction affects how mothers parent through the way that they interact with their children. This shows how parents themselves feel that their addiction affects their families, a side that isn't normally shown when researching how addiction affects families.


"Harvard Study Pegs How Parental Substance Abuse Impacts Kids." Psychology Today. N. p., 2019. Web. 25 Jan. 2019.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-athletes-way/201607/harvard-study-pegs-how-parental-substance-abuse-impacts-kids

An article written by Psychology Today that analyzes a multiple studies on how children who grow up in households with parents or caregivers who have substance issues are more likely to suffer from behavioral and emotional problems. This is important because it explains, through statistics, that increased rates of behavioral problems as well as emotional problems are not just things that the people that I will be and have interviewed for my project suffer from, but are a widespread issue.


How Family Member's Addictions Affect You. 2019 Anonymous Interview by Julia Hood. In person. Science Leadership Academy.

This interview that I conducted with an anonymous person talks about how their parent’s addictions affected them growing up and now that they’re older how they deal with it. It addresses how they view addiction as a whole as well as how it’s affected their relationship with their parents. It shows how people in situations where a family member is addicted view things as well as how they cope with things, this interview shows specifically that the coping mechanisms that are recommended are not always carried out when not promoted at home.


"How Addiction Affects Children - Life With An Addict Through A Child's Eye." The Arbor Behavioral Healthcare. N. p., 2018. Web. 25 Jan. 2019.

https://thearbor.com/how-addiction-affects-children

This article written by a behavioral healthcare center in Texas talks about the different ways that addiction affects children. It also talks about some of the different ways that children can cope with their parents being addicted. This is important for my project because it talks about how addiction can emotionally affect how children act as well and develop regarding relationships as well as “basic” tasks.


"How Your Substance Abuse May Have Affected Your Child | Phoenix House." Phoenixhouse.org. N. p., 2019. Web. 25 Jan. 2019.

https://www.phoenixhouse.org/family/how-your-substance-abuse-may-have-affected-your-child/

An article published by Phoenix House that talks about how substance abuse has affected children whose parents suffered from addiction. It talks about how even though a parent may have been present physically the whole addiction it still can still emotionally affect the child, it also talks about how neglect or abuse can affect children. It also talks about the different ways it has psychologically affected children as well as how it may have affected their learning of basic tasks such as personal hygiene practices and can affect their intimate relationships in the future.


Publishing, Harvard. "How Addiction Hijacks The Brain - Harvard Health." Harvard Health. N. p., 2019. Web. 25 Jan. 2019.

https://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/how-addiction-hijacks-the-brain

This article by Harvard Health Department talks about the science behind addiction as well as what addiction does to the brain. It talks about how addictions are formed as well as how tolerances are formed and why they’re formed. This is important because to understand how addiction affects families it must first be understood what addiction is and why it is a thing. It is also important to understand why people become addicted to things and how the brain functions while addicted.


"Relationships And Addiction | Dual Diagnosis." Dual Diagnosis. N. p., 2019. Web. 25 Jan. 2019.

https://www.dualdiagnosis.org/drug-addiction/relationships-and-addiction/

This article done by the Foundations Recovery Network talks about how addictions affect people’s relationships, it has many different subsections that discuss the different ways that addiction can affect people’s relationships such as gender dynamics, economic issues, and how developing healthy relationships can help with addiction.


"The Importance Of Family When Recovering From Addiction » Alo House Malibu." Alo House Malibu. N. p., 2017. Web. 25 Jan. 2019.

https://alorecovery.com/importance-family-recovering-addiction/

An article published by Alo House Recovery Centers that talks about the importance of family members while someone is recovering from addiction. This shows the different ways that different family dynamics can enable recovering addicts as well as different ways that family members can help their family members recover. This is important because even though many people are currently in a situation where a family member is addicted, there are also many people whose family members are recovering and it is necessary to understand what to do while recovering.


"What Are The Dangers Of A Codependent Drug Abusing Relationship?." American Addiction Centers. N. p., 2019. Web. 25 Jan. 2019.

https://americanaddictioncenters.org/rehab-guide/codependent-relationship

An article written by American Addiction Centers that talks about how even though positive relationships can help addicts, certain relationships, codependent relationships in particular, can cause many negative effects on recovering addicts. It also explains what codependent relationships are and how it affects both people in the relationship. This article shines a light on addiction and how it affects family members in a light that isn’t just that it affects the family, but that depending on the person they could actually be harming the recovering or current addict.  


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