Impact of caregiver substance misuse on emerging adults’ adjustment

Children raised by parents who abused substances have been shown to experience many adverse events, such as abuse, neglect, or parental separation (Stein, et al., 2002). With the rise in drug use among all ages, it is expected for the number of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) for children to consequently increase, but how does this affect them as young adults? We examined the association between individual ACEs, distress, and resilience among college students exposed to parental substance misuse. We expected each ACEs item to be positively correlated with distress, and for resilience to be negatively correlated with distress. Methods: Our sample consisted of 196 college students raised by a caregiver who misused substances. Individual adverse experiences were measured via the ACEs scale. The Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale (DASS-21) was used to measure distress. Connors-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC 25) measured resilience. Pearson’s correlation coefficients were calculated. Results and Discussion: 30.6% of the sample exhibited elevated distress and 78.6% experienced 2+ ACEs. As expected, individual ACEs items were significantly correlated with DASS-21 total score, with the exception of parental incarceration. In addition, the CD-RISC and DASS-21 were negatively correlated. The results illustrate a wide variety of adverse experiences in individuals exposed to parental substance misuse. Implications of results will be discussed.Psycholog