Gianna Borgos ’24
How Parents’ Substance Use Affects Their Children’s Social Interactions and Awareness
Gianna Borgos ’24, Sociology and Political Science major
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Brandon Martinez, Sociology and Anthropology
Poster Presentation: Wednesday, April 24, 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Household substance use affects the child’s home environment in many ways, including emotional, physical, and mental health of the child. Children who have parents with substance issues are more likely to become timid and have difficulties creating relationships with other children, which could create challenges with social interactions. This study tests the correlation of caregivers who use substances and tobacco in their home, and how it effects the social development of the child.
Using data from the 2022 National Survey of Children’s Health, I examine the relationship between living in a household where substances are consumed and childhood socialization. I operationalize substance abuse with two different indicators: smoking and drinking. I also employ two different measures for childhood socialization. The first asks the child caretaker if their child plays well with others, and the second asks if their child has difficulty making friends. Bivariate analyses show that children in households with tobacco use as well as households with alcohol use are more likely to have difficulties socializing. Multivariate analyses reveal these differences are still significant for households with alcohol use, even when controlling for several potentially spurious covariates. However, households with tobacco use are not significantly different from tobacco free households once accounting for control variables. These results support my hypotheses with regards to alcohol and displays the real-world impact substance use has on children.
