Disaffected Youth: continued

physical and mental health issues in children 17 and younger. As children are unable to work themselves out of poverty, youth are dependent on adults and social safety net systems for assistance. Compared to other leading industrialized nations, the United States frequently lands last in social assistance programs for children.

The Effects of Parental Addiction on Young People

In The Science of Leaving Omaha, Iris tells Baker that she is the daughter of an incapacitated, alcoholic mother, underscoring Iris’s anxiety and loneliness. According to the American Addiction Centers, living in a chaotic, debilitated environment as the child of a low functioning alcoholic parent can lead to the development of certain dysfunctional characteristics. These dysfunctions can lead to relationship issues, and negatively impact a child’s psychological wellbeing. Codependency is common in people who grow up with an addicted parent, and is a trait of a person who has developed unhealthy behaviors and coping skills. Common codependent behaviors and traits include enmeshment (no clear relationship boundaries), the lack of a coherent identity, difficulty in recognizing what constitutes normal behavior in others, and excessive denial of issues or problems.

A codependent person is often under the illusion that they are aiding the alcoholic parent through “helping” behaviors, but are most likely perpetuating the addiction. One of the most common traits found in children of alcoholic parents is a sense of hyper-responsibility or feeling responsible for things beyond their control, such as a parent’s happiness or drinking habits. Hyper-responsibility may develop if another parent or guardian does not assume the role of family caretaker. Frequently, children develop a lack of responsibility if they feel that everything they did to assist their family was ineffective at changing their circumstances or having their own needs met. Many times, this leads to feelings of personal deficiency and a “what’s the point?” mentality.

According to the American Addiction Centers the following are some of the common characteristics of adult children of alcoholics :

• The inability to trust yourself or others

• Hypervigilance in social interactions

• Feeling hypersensitive to comments from others

• Prioritizing the needs of others above your own

• Using conflict avoidance techniques, such as withdrawing physically or emotionally

• Feeling disconnected from your feelings of anger

• Being unable to express your feelings in appropriate ways

• Strong avoidance or escapism behaviors

• A diminished capacity to deal with negative emotions in others

• All-or-nothing or black-and-white thinking, meaning they see people and circumstances as all good or all bad

• Creating crises when there aren’t any

• Low self-esteem and a lack of self-worth

• High tolerance for inappropriate or poor behavior in others