Running Head: INTEREST

PAPER

Interest Paper on Children with Addicted Parents

Kaitlyn P Olsen

University of Cincinnati

Human Behavior and Social Environment

SW 3040-003

10/5/2016
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Human Behavior and Social Environment Interest Paper on Children with Addicted Parents

Introduction

The Childrens Rights Movement within the United States has been successfully

obtaining legislative rulings most notably since 1966 and 1967 (Pardeck, 2006). Both of these

cases, Kent v. United States and In re Gault, were deciding factors as to how the United States

government would treat children. As I stated, these cases were not ruled upon until Chief Justice

Warren served on the Supreme Court in the late 1960s (Pardeck, 2006). Because the Childrens

Rights Movement is still seeking assistance for the welfare of children, it is no surprise that there

are still many issues to be addressed. One of those issues concerns the welfare of children whose

parents are addiction to various substances. This issue, as all welfare concerns, is quite difficult

to address due to an array of conflicting opinions, definitions of abuse and neglect, policies

surrounding Childrens Protective Services agencies, strictly budgeted programs, and so forth.

Though this paper will only scratch the surface of the hardships that children with addicted

parents face, hopefully it will be informative on the theories regarding child welfare issues,

environmental aspects, marginalization of these children, ethical dilemmas involved in seeking

proper environments, and lack of resources within agencies that prevent these children from

receiving proper care.

Discussion

Description of Population and their Needs

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This essay will focus specifically on older children; ages 6-8 and 9-11. At ages 6-8,

children are beginning to enjoy physical and cognitive challenges; becoming competitive and

self-sufficient; earning to express their feelings; and are very sensitive to criticism (Zastrow and

Kirst-Ashman, 2016). At ages 9-11, childrens bodies are preparing for puberty, assuming gender

rules, seeking approval of peers, and developing insight and depth (Zastrow and Kirst-Ashman,

2016). Due to these developments, children from 6-11 years old need to be stimulated mostly by

conversation, academics, building of self-esteem, and emotional support.

In the field of social work, an environmental perspective is used to evaluate a clients

lifestyle. For this purpose, an individuals environment is divided into three levels; the micro

level which is the individual themselves, the mezzo level which is the individuals immediate

social group such as the family they live with, and the macro level which is the individuals

institutions like school, work, and community. For clients ages 6-11, the environmental approach

can be described rather simply using the people or institutions that the client sees the most. The

micro level of this client population would consist of a wavering self-esteem, struggle to gain

approval, and inability to understand their feelings. They may have dreams and ambitions but

theyre unable to understand how to achieve them or that certain aspirations are impossible (such

being a mermaid when they grow up). On the mezzo level, there are few people that children

notice and pay attention to each day. What I mean by this is that there may be 15 teachers that the

child passed at school every day, but they only notice the one or two that they must take

instructions from. With that said, the mezzo level of a child is likely to be the family members

they live with and a couple of others like a teacher or daycare professional. The macro level is

the level that the child is the least aware of. Going back to the example about the teachers a child
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sees, the child is a part of community institutions but the institutions are not necessarily part of

the child.

Specific Issues and their Sustaining Factors

As addressed the introduction, children are highly marginalized. Marginalization is the

act of suppressing a certain disadvantaged population. Because children are not cognitively

mature enough to know and defend their rights, more advantaged individuals in society will

often overlook their needs altogether or use them as scapegoats. Due to this marginalization,

children are often mistreated and neglected. This makes children vulnerable to abuse and neglect.

The slow moving childrens rights movement polices do not improve child

marginalization and vulnerability. Because it is so difficult to define child abuse and neglect in

real life applications, child advocates have their hands tied (Jenson and Fraser, 2016). For

example, an article from the Huffington Post titled "Viral Photos Of Child Dragged By Hair

Through Walmart Lead To CPS Investigation" was written in September. This article describes a

female child whose father tied her hair to a shopping cart so that she would be forced to follow

him throughout the store. Thankfully, the pictures that sparked this news article were taken by a

mother who was also shopping that day and saw this abuse. She confronted him but he cursed at

her and told her to mind her own business. Another shopper called the police. When describing

the interaction with police, the article states, "Later, after officers questioned the man, Burch says

a sergeant with the Cleveland Police Department told her they were unable to arrest him, because

the child had no visible injuries." This article is a key example of obvious child abuse that was

not processed due to the ambiguity surrounding the proof needed for criminal charges to be filed.
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Children whose needs, such as the ones listed above, are not met are considered

neglected. Parents who are addicted to various substances are often preoccupied with their

addiction and they do not provide support in the ways that their child requires. Westman, a

childrens rights advocate and scholar, stated, The legal rights of minors clusters around rights

to nurturance, protection and to make autonomous choices. (Pardeck, 2006). To expand on this,

children have rights to emotional support such as love and encouragement (nurturance); the right

to physical care such as shelter, nutrition, healthcare, and more; and rights to social teachings

related to values, beliefs, and norms of their culture.

Theories

Without parents to guide these children properly, a number of psychological and

therefore, behavioral consequences can arise. With the progress of psychoanalytic theories, we

can begin to understand those consequences. Freud originally developed the first wave of this

theory; however, other scholars began to question his research which created the Neo-Freudian

Psychoanalytic theories. The basic concept developed by Freud remains the same. He believed

that biological orientation could alter an individuals behavior. Developing onto that concept,

Erich Fromm believed that social orientation altered behavior more so than biological. he

hypothesized that people are best understood within a social context. He focused on how people

interact with other. Individual character traits then evolve from these social interactions.

(Zastrow and Kirst-Ashman, 2016). With this belief, the children who are neglected can

internalize situations that have occurred with their parent. Many of the behaviors that stem from

these internalizations will manifest themselves as forms of Compensation, Repression,

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Sublimation, Denial, Identification, Regression, Projection, and Rationalization (Zastrow and

Kirst-Ashman, 2016).

The second category of theory that correlates to children with addicted parents would be

Phenomenological Conceptual Frameworks, specifically the work of Carl Rogers. Rogers studied

that Phenomenological or self-theories of personality focus on particular individuals

perceptions of the world and how these individuals feel about these experiences. (Zastrow and

Kirst-Ashman, 2016). These theories do not state that all individuals have a predetermined

personality structure. Instead, life experiences and Uniqueness of the individual personality is

emphasized. Rogers also maintained that individuals accomplish Self-actualization; the

tendency for every person to develop capacities that serve to maintain or enhance the person.

(Zastrow and Kirst-Ashman, 2016). This theory is applicable to neglected children because the

indirect message that addicted parents send to their children can be identified as an

introjection; which is when a child is told to believe different information than what their self-

actualizing motive is trying to believe. Introjections that conflict with the Self-actualizing

Motive can then change a childs Condition of Worth. Conditions of Worth tell a person that they

are only worthy when they behave in a manner that is congruent with the introjection. In other

words, when a child is trying to reach a point of Self-actualization and they are disrupted by a

parent who is mistreating or neglecting them, they must choose their own Self-actualization or

act accordingly to manage a Condition of Worth (Zastrow and Kirst-Ashman, 2016).

Recommendations

Due to the difficulties in legislature surrounding this issue, I believe a more time-efficient

recommendation would be for adults to take a larger interest in a childs life. Whether that adult
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is another family member, friends parent, teacher, etc., children absolutely need to know that

there is an adult who will advocate on their behalf.

Conclusion

As previously stated, the Childrens Rights Movement and policies surrounding

Childrens Protective Services are very slowly improving. Because of this, children are often

forced to abide by their addicted parent rules while being subject to neglect and abuse. Children

ages 6-11 need to be emotionally supported and cognitively challenged. When their needs are not

met, childrens personalities are contributed to. The experience of their childhood will likely

forever take part in determining who they are.

References
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Zastrow, Kirst-Ashman (2016). Understanding Human Behavior and the Social

Environment.

Pardeck (2006). Childrens Rights: Policy and Practice.

Jenson, Fraser (2016). Social Policy for Children and Families: A Risk and Resiliency

Perspective.