Young people
LASTING IMPRESSIONS
Early trauma can have a
devastating effect on children,
leaving them more likely to
misuse drugs and alcohol.
We need to be ready to help
at this formative stage, say
Addaction and YoungMinds
C
hildren who experience trauma are
more likely to misuse drugs and
alcohol – a situation that needs to be
tackled urgently by local
commissioners, say Addaction and
YoungMinds. The two charities have
joined forces to publish Childhood
Adversity, Substance Misuse and Young People’s Mental
Health, a briefing paper and action plan that aims to
help young people avoid high risk substance misuse
and further trauma from being criminalised.
The paper has been sent to all clinical
commissioning groups across the country and urges
local commissioners and providers to do more to
tackle the issue, including making drug and alcohol
education universal across all schools.
Among key issues, it highlights that children who have
experienced four or more adverse childhood experiences –
8 | drinkanddrugsnews | September 2017
like abuse, neglect, domestic violence, taking on adult
responsibilities or living in households where people
misuse substances – are twice as likely to binge drink and
11 times more likely to use crack cocaine or heroin.
If children regularly use substances from an early age,
it can substantially impact their neurobiological and
cognitive develop ment, as well as affecting their ability
to learn skills to self-soothe or self-regulate when faced
with further emotional stress. Ultimately, this has a
negative impact on their physical and mental health.
More than 200,000 children in England now live with
at least one adult who is alcohol dependent, which can
have a significant impact on their parenting abilities and
make it