Substance Abuse and Addiction

Three areas are key when considering substance abuse in the context of early childhood. These are the impact of exposure to drugs of abuse during the prenatal periods, the impact of parental substance use on parenting and a child’s environment, and the predictive factors from early childhood to the initiation of drug use in early adolescence.

Regarding maternal substance abuse and addiction during pregnancy, the fetus and infant are at risk because of the direct teratogenic effects of exposure to potentially neurotoxic drugs at key times in gestation, the exposure to maternal chronic stress and poor health that often accompany substance abuse during pregnancy, and the overall greater comorbidity with other psychiatric disorders. In turn, psychiatric disorders such as chronic depression and anxiety potentially convey ...

  • Loading...
locked icon

Sign in to access this content

Get a 30 day FREE TRIAL

  • Watch videos from a variety of sources bringing classroom topics to life
  • Read modern, diverse business cases
  • Explore hundreds of books and reference titles