Fetal Alcohol Syndrome… is the name given to a g Essay Example

FAS/FAE leads to permanent physical, mental, and emotional consequences. The behavioral and mental difficulties faced by FAE children can be just as serious as those faced by FAS children.

Children with FAS/FAE frequently face difficulties comprehending cause and effect connections and long-term repercussions. The lifetime expense for providing institutional and medical care to one child with FAS totals around $1.4 million. Which infants are susceptible to developing FAS or FAE?

Every time a mother consumes alcohol, her baby faces the possibility of developing either Fetal Alcohol Syndrome or Fetal Alcohol Effect. When a pregnant woman drinks alcohol, her baby also ingests it.

There is uncertainty about the exact amount of alcohol that can harm a baby, and there is no evidence to suggest that small amounts are safe. Unfortunately, there is no cure for Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), and any damage caused by it cannot be undone. However, FAS is the primary cause of preventable birth defects. The simplest way for women to avoid FAS is by not drinking alcohol during pregnancy.

Education and intervention are powerful tools that communities, schools, and concerned individuals can use to prevent FAS/FAE. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), 2.6 million young people are unaware of the potentially deadly consequences of alcohol overdose.²⁰ Alcohol poisoning occurs when a person consumes a large amount of alcohol in a short period of time. The concentration of alcohol in the bloodstream is known as blood alcohol concentration (BAC) and is measured in percentages. For example, a BAC of 0.10 percent means that there is one part alcohol for every 1,000 parts blood in the body.

Most experts (21) suggest that a lethal

dose of alcohol typically falls between .40 to .50 percent, although this can vary among individuals. It is important to note that impaired driving can occur even with very low blood alcohol levels, and even just one drink can have a negative impact on the driving skills of most young people (22). In 1997, it was found that males aged 15 to 20 had a higher involvement with alcohol compared to females.Specifically, 25 percent of young male drivers involved in fatal crashes were drinking at the time, whereas only 12 percent of young female drivers were (23).

Alcohol is widely used by youth and presents serious and potentially life-threatening issues for this population (1). Research indicates that drinking is linked to risk-taking and thrill-seeking behavior among adolescents since the disinhibiting effects of alcohol increase the likelihood of engaging in unsafe activities (2). Additionally, in 1997, it was discovered that 21 percent of drivers aged 15 to 20 who were killed in crashes were intoxicated. Among young drivers, males display a stronger association with alcohol than females. Particularly among young male drivers, there was a higher involvement of alcohol in fatal crashes (25%) compared to their female counterparts (12%).In addition, statistics at a national level indicate that drowning is the primary cause of injury-related fatalities among adolescents and young adults. The consumption of alcohol significantly impacts a swimmer's coordination and judgment, thereby playing a role in youth drowning incidents.

Between 40-50% of young males who drown were drinking at the time of their death, and an equal percentage of diving accidents are alcohol related. It is estimated that around 240,000 to 360,000 out of the nation's 12 million

current undergraduates will die from alcohol-related causes. Initiating alcohol consumption before the age of 15 increases the risk of developing alcohol dependence by four times compared to those who wait until 21. Postponing drinking initiation by a year decreases the probability of alcohol dependence by 14%. Adolescents who heavily consume alcohol face similar long-term health risks as adults such as cirrhosis, pancreatitis, hemorrhagic stroke, and certain types of cancer.

The use of alcohol among adolescents raises the likelihoods of early sexual activity, frequent sexual encounters, and unprotected sex. This makes them more susceptible to HIV infection and other sexually transmitted diseases. One study discovered that students diagnosed with alcohol abuse have a four times higher chance of experiencing major depression compared to those without alcohol issues. Alcohol use in adolescents has also been linked to suicidal thoughts, plans attempts and completions; however research does not establish a causal relationship between drinking and suicidal behavior only correlation.

Consuming alcohol while pregnant can lead to severe and enduring brain impairment in the fetus.

Exposure to alcohol during the development of young individuals can have adverse effects on their brains, potentially leading to mental retardation and severe emotional issues later in life. Young brains are more susceptible to damage from lower doses of alcohol compared to fully matured brains, and this damage can occur at a faster rate. Adolescents who are exposed to alcohol have reduced learning ability compared to those who do not encounter it until adulthood. Alcohol also impacts academic performance, with over 40 percent of academic problems and 28 percent of college dropouts being related to alcohol consumption. Heavy drinkers tend to achieve lower grades. High school students

who use alcohol or substances are also more likely to drop out or neglect their academic responsibilities.

Alcohol's implications extend beyond academics and into the realm of crime as well. Approximately half of college students who become victims of crimes were under the influence when these incidents occurred. Alcohol is involved in numerous serious crimes, both as a factor for offenders and victims. Both juvenile and adult offenders are disproportionately affected by problems related to alcohol.

On college campuses, 90 percent of violent crimes involve alcohol, including instances such as rape where either the victim or assailant consumed alcohol.SAMHSA programs such as Girl Power! and Planet Teen help young individuals by providing them with information to make informed decisions about their well-being. All states, including the District of Columbia, have effectively enforced laws that establish a minimum drinking age of 21 years old.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that laws targeting drunk driving have resulted in a 13% decrease in traffic fatalities for drivers aged 18-20. These laws saved around 846 lives in the year 1997. Currently, 15 states have established the legal intoxication limit at 0.08 g/dl, while all 50 states and the District of Columbia enforce zero tolerance laws for drivers under the age of 21. This means it is illegal for individuals under 21 to drive with blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels of 0.02 g/dl or higher. These programs aimed at preventing alcohol use among adolescents have also achieved success. The rate of alcohol use among adolescents aged 12-17 declined from approximately 50% in 1979 to reach a stable level of about 21% by 1991.
Sources
1National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Youth

Drinking: Risk Factors and Consequences, Alcohol Alert No.

37, July 1997.
2 National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Ninth Special Report to the U.S. Congress on Alcohol and Health, Bethesda, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1997.

The "Ninth Special Report to the U.S. Congress on Alcohol and Health" was published by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism in Bethesda, MD in July 1997. The report was issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

3National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Young Drivers Traffic Safety Facts 1997, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Transportation, 1997.
4 Ibid.
5 Office of the Inspector General, Report to the Surgeon General, Youth and Alcohol: Dangerous and Deadly Consequences, Washington, DC: U.S.

The text below is from various sources:

- Department of Education, 1992.

- National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, Rethinking Rites of Passage: Substance Abuse on Americas Campuses, Columbia University, New York, 1994.

- Grant, B. F., The impact of a family history of alcoholism on the relationship between age at onset of alcohol use and DSM-IV alcohol dependence: Results from the National Longitudinal Alcohol Epidemiologic Survey, Alcohol Health and Research World, Volume 22,
1998.

- National Institute in Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), Alcohol Health and Research World,
Volume 17,
No. 2,
1993.

9. Office of the Inspector General, Report to the Surgeon General, Youth and Alcohol: Dangerous and Deadly Consequences, Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, 1992.
10. National Institute or Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Youth Drinking: Risk Factors and Consequences, Alcohol Alert No. 37, July 1997.
11. Ibid.

9. The Office of the Inspector General published a report to the Surgeon General entitled "Youth and Alcohol: Dangerous and Deadly Consequences" in Washington, DC in 1992.

This report was issued by the U.S. Department of Education.
10. In July 1997, the National Institute or Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism released an alcohol alert titled "Youth Drinking: Risk Factors and Consequences," identified as No. 37.
11. Referencing back to source number 10 (National Institute or Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism), this source is also cited as "Ibid."

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism released its Ninth Special Report to the U.S. Congress on Alcohol and Health in 1997 in Bethesda, MD under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

In 1996, a study was published by Swartzwelder, H.S., Wilson, W.A., and Tayyeb, M.I. in Alcoholism: Clinical Experimental Research, Volume 20 which examined the age-dependent inhibition of long-term potentiation by ethanol in immature versus mature hippocampus.

In 1994, the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University published a report titled "Rethinking Rites of Passage: Substance Abuse on Americas Campuses".

The National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information published a report titled "Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs and the College Experience: Making the Link" in 1995.
In 1998, the National Institute on Drug Abuse conducted a study called "National Survey Results on Drug Use from The Monitoring the Future Study, 1975-1997, Volume I: Secondary School Students". This study was sponsored by the Department of Health and Human Services in Rockville, MD.
In 1994, Columbia University's National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse released a publication titled "Rethinking Rites of Passage: Substance Abuse on Americas Campuses".
The Ninth Special Report to the U.S. by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism addressed alcohol-related issues.

Congress on Alcohol and Health, Bethesda, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1997.

19 National

Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, Rethinking Rites of Passage: Substance Abuse on Americas Campuses, Columbia University, New York, 1994.

20 Office of Substance Abuse Prevention, Too many young people drink and know too little about the consequences, Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1991.

21 National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism,
Drinking and Driving,
Alcohol Alert No.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released the Young Drivers Traffic Safety Facts for 1997 on January 31, 1996. This report was published by the U.S. Department of Transportation, using the same source as the previous reference.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reports that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services conducted the 1998 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse in Rockville, MD. This survey provides important insights into children of alcoholics.

An important discovery from this survey is that alcoholism has a widespread impact on the entire family.

When a family member is an alcoholic and fails to recover, it can generate stress for the whole family, impacting each member in various ways. The way families cope with this stress varies, and the level of dysfunction or resilience of the non-alcoholic partner has a significant impact on how children are influenced by these issues.

Children raised in alcoholic families or dysfunctional family environments may have different life experiences but they share similar developmental losses and stressors. If they live with a parent who is not recovering from alcoholism, they usually receive lower scores in areas such as family cohesion, intellectual-cultural orientation, active-recreational orientation, and independence. Moreover, these children typically experience higher levels of conflict within their families.

A large number of

individuals, approximately 76 million Americans or around 43% of the U.S. population, report being exposed to alcoholism in their families. This exposure can hinder the developmental growth of many children of alcoholics (COAs) who often have distant and non-communicative family members.

It is estimated that a significant proportion of adults have had firsthand experience with alcoholism within their families. Roughly 18% of American adults grew up in households where at least one family member was an alcoholic, while approximately 12% of adult Americans who consume alcohol either battle with alcoholism or encounter difficulties linked to its use. Consequently, the overall societal expense surpasses $166 billion each year. Furthermore, it is believed that there are roughly 26.8 million Children of Alcoholics (COAs) residing in the United States.

Preliminary research indicates that there are over 11 million individuals under the age of 18.
Additionally, there is compelling scientific evidence suggesting that alcoholism has a familial predisposition. Children born to parents with alcoholism are at a higher risk for developing alcoholism and engaging in other substance abuse behaviors compared to children born to non-alcoholics.

Children of alcoholics have a higher risk of developing alcoholism, being four times more likely than non-COAs. The development of alcoholism is strongly influenced by genetic factors, as well as various family dynamics that shape the growth of children with alcoholic parents. Additionally, children's drinking habits seem to be influenced by their perceptions of their parents' drinking patterns and situations.

Children as young as a very early age demonstrate awareness of alcohol-related norms and recognize their parents' drinking patterns, shaping their own alcohol expectancies.

Alcohol expectancies serve as a potential explanation for the correlation

between college students' heavy drinking and having a father with alcoholism.

Children's understanding of alcohol and other drugs is influenced by parental alcoholism and other substance dependencies.

Furthermore, family dynamics play a role in determining the risk of alcohol abuse among children of alcoholics (COA). Research has revealed that families with an alcoholic parent exhibit more negative family interaction in problem-solving discussions compared to non-alcoholic families.

Around 30% of alcoholics have at least one parent who is also an alcoholic.
Children of alcoholics are more likely to marry into families where alcoholism is common.
Parental alcoholism affects adolescent substance use through stress, negative emotions, and decreased parental supervision. Negative emotions and reduced parental supervision are linked to adolescents joining a peer network that supports drug use. Sons of alcoholics experience more physiological changes associated with pleasure after drinking alcohol compared to sons of non-alcoholics, but only immediately after drinking.
4.

Alcoholism tends to have significant detrimental impacts on marital relationships. Separated and divorced individuals are three times more likely than those who are married to report being married to an alcoholic or someone with a drinking problem. Among individuals under the age of 46 who are separated or divorced, nearly two-thirds of women and almost half of men have experienced alcoholism within their family at some point. Additionally, a significant portion of human violence is associated with alcohol, with perpetrators frequently being under the influence of alcohol.

Alcohol plays a significant role in various crimes. It is a contributing factor in 68% of manslaughters, 62% of assaults, 54% of murders and attempted murders, 48% of robberies, and 44% of burglaries.

Numerous studies on family violence consistently

find a high prevalence of alcohol and other drug involvement.

Children of alcoholics (COAs) are more likely to experience physical abuse and witness family violence.

Alcoholic families tend to have poorer problem-solving abilities compared to non-alcoholic families. This applies to both the parents individually and the family dynamics as a whole. These communication and problem-solving deficiencies are believed to contribute to the lack of cohesion and increased conflict commonly observed in alcoholic families.

COAs have a higher risk of developing disruptive behavioral issues and are more prone to sensation-seeking, aggression, and impulsivity compared to non-COAs.

6. A significant number of children in this country are being raised by addicted parents, and there is evidence suggesting a correlation between parental alcoholism and child abuse in a large proportion of child abuse cases. According to state welfare records, substance abuse is one of the top two problems exhibited by families in 81% of the reported cases, as more than one million children are confirmed victims of child abuse and neglect by state child protective service agencies each year.

Studies indicate that parents who abuse children have a higher incidence of alcoholism.
Existing research suggests that alcoholism is more closely associated with child abuse than other disorders, such as parental depression.
However, further research in this field is needed, despite several studies reporting high rates of alcoholism among the parents of incest victims.
Additionally, children of alcoholics show higher rates of depression and anxiety compared to children of non-alcoholics.
Throughout childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood, children of alcoholics generally have lower self-esteem than their counterparts who are not children of alcoholics.

Children of alcoholics

have higher rates of psychopathology compared to children of non-alcoholics. Common issues among COAs include anxiety, depression, and externalizing behavior disorders.
Young COAs often exhibit signs of depression and anxiety such as crying, bed wetting, social isolation, fear of school, and nightmares. Older COAs may isolate themselves in their rooms for extended periods, claiming they lack someone to confide in. Depressive symptoms in teenagers can manifest as perfectionism, hoarding, social withdrawal, and excessive self-consciousness. Teenage COAs may also develop phobias.

8. Children from families with alcoholics have increased physical and mental health issues and incur higher healthcare expenses compared to children from families without alcoholics. Inpatient admission rates for substance abuse are three times higher for these children. Additionally, the admission rates for mental disorders exceed those of other children by almost double. The occurrence of injuries is also higher than other children, by over 150%. Furthermore, the overall healthcare costs for children of alcoholics are 32% higher than those from non-alcoholic families.

9. Children of alcoholics tend to score lower on tests that measure verbal ability. Their cognitive and verbal skills may be impaired, which can hinder their performance in school, relationships with peers, ability to form and maintain intimate relationships, as well as impact their performance in job interviews.

However, it should not be assumed that low verbal scores imply intellectual impairment in children of alcoholics.

10.

Children of alcoholics frequently experience challenges in their educational journey. COAs commonly hold the belief that they will not succeed, even if they perform well academically. Their self-perception tends to lack a sense of accomplishment. These children are more prone to being raised by parents with cognitive limitations and in an unstimulating

environment.

A lack of stimulation in the rearing environment may partially explain the higher rate of failure observed in COAs compared to non-COAs.

Preschool-aged COAs displayed inferior language and reasoning skills when compared to non-COAs, and the lower quality of stimulation at home was found to be a predictor of poorer performance among COAs.

COAs are more prone to truancy, dropping out of school, repeating grades, or seeking the assistance of a school counselor or psychologist. These issues may not necessarily be related to academic ability; instead, COAs may struggle with forming bonds with teachers and peers, experience performance-related anxiety, or fear failure. The actual causes are yet to be determined.

There is a growing body of scientific evidence indicating that the risk for future problems and even alcohol-related outcomes can be identified early in life and sometimes even prior to starting school.

11. Children who have parents who are alcoholics often struggle with abstract thinking and conceptual reasoning. This can make problem solving, whether it is academic or related to everyday life, more challenging for them. As a result, these children may need more straightforward explanations and instructions.

12. Adults can support children of alcoholics by helping them develop their independence and autonomy.

To develop social orientation and skills, it is important to engage in acts of "required helpfulness" and form a close bond with a caregiver. Children should also be able to cope successfully with emotionally difficult experiences and perceive those experiences constructively, even if they cause pain or suffering. Early in life, it is crucial for children to gain positive attention from others. Additionally, developing day-to-day coping strategies is essential.

13. By placing importance on and preserving healthy

family rituals or traditions like vacations, mealtimes, or holidays, confronting the alcoholic parent about their problem, providing consistent significant others in the child's life, and participating in moderate to high religious observance, children can be shielded from the negative effects of having an alcoholic family.

14. Alcohol consumption by the mother at any point during pregnancy has the potential to result in alcohol-related birth defects or neurological deficits. It seems that the rate of drinking during pregnancy is on the rise.

Prenatal alcohol effects can be detected in non-alcoholic women who consume alcohol in moderate levels. Even if a mother is not an alcoholic, her child can still experience the effects of alcohol exposure during pregnancy.

Infants and children whose mothers stopped drinking in early pregnancy may have less cognitive performance impairment due to alcohol exposure, even if the mothers start drinking again after giving birth.

In one study involving 6-year-olds, those who were exposed to alcohol during the second trimester showed lower academic achievement and difficulties in reading, spelling, and mathematics.

Approximately 6 percent of children born to women who consume alcohol have Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS); the risk of FAS is even higher, reaching up to 70 percent, for children born after an older sibling with FAS.

Individuals diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome displayed a wide range of IQ scores, from 20 to 105, with an average score of 68. These individuals also exhibited difficulties in concentration and attention.

FAS presents various effects such as growth problems, physical abnormalities, intellectual disability, and challenges in behavior. Adolescents and adults with FAS may experience additional issues like mental health disorders, disrupted education (such as dropping out or facing suspension or

expulsion), involvement in legal troubles, dependent living arrangements, and employment difficulties.

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