TIPS on How to Talk With Your Children about Substances and Gambling part 5

Over the next 5 weeks we are going to be posting 1 tip a week on how to discuss substance use and gambling with your kids.

Tip #5 Family History Matters-.

 The vulnerability to developing a gambling or substance use disorder is passed generationally through biology. Exposure to addictive tendencies in the home is also a large risk factor. Both nature and nurture play a role in a person developing an addiction. And if there is family history, with a parent, grandparent, or aunt/uncle, this could be a risk factor as well. “While we know from studies that the genetic heritability of addiction is strong, it is also complex, passed on through a series of genes and generally not limited to a single substance.”(Levy and Sundaram) Basically, if  children have a family member with one addiction, the higher chance they have of developing an addiction. It isn’t the substance that is passed down, but the risk that is. The way to combat this is to have honest discussions about unhealthy substance use, addiction, and the family risk of substance use disorders. These conversations can help provide teens a good, solid reason for making the smart decision not to start using in the first place.

Biology Matters. Own Your History

***Harvard Health Blog

August 16, 2018

By Sharon Levy, MD, MPH, Contributor, and

Siva Sundaram, BA, Contributor