NCJ Number
224901
Date Published
2008
Length
0 pages
Annotation
In this DVD, rehabilitated methamphetamine users and their children talk about the consequences of parental meth addiction for children, including neglect and physical, emotional, and sexual abuse.
Abstract
Through the accounts of children who have lived with parents and stepparents addicted to meth the DVD shows the consequences of parents’ inability to provide stable housing, food, and emotional nurturing. Parental emotional, physical, and sexual abuse of their children is also described. A stepfather addicted to meth discusses his own upbringing as involving physical and emotional abuse from his father, influencing him to begin using drugs at the age of 11. His addiction led to dropping out of school, an unstable job history, and the abuse and neglect of his stepchildren. In addition to discussing abuse and neglect by their meth-using parents, the children also talk about their experiences of having to care for their younger brothers and sisters as well as their parents. Consequently, they had little time or focus for school work. One of the contributors to the DVD is a Native-American grandmother, who discusses the prevalence of meth use in her tribe and her own experience of caring for the children of relatives who are addicted to drugs. In addition to portraying the adverse effects of parental meth use on children, the DVD also provides testimony by rehabilitated meth users and their children regarding the positive changes that have occurred in their lives since the parents received treatment.