Alarming number of parents lost to overdose
More than 321,000 children lost a parent to a drug overdose between 2011 and 2021, a daunting blow that reflects the impact of the nation’s addiction crisis on a generation of children.
The rate of children who lost a parent more than doubled over the decade. The average leaped from about 27 to 63 children per 100,000, according to a study published Wednesday in the medical journal JAMA Psychiatry.
Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, or NIDA, said federal researchers wanted to provide a comprehensive look at the number of children who have been orphaned or lost at least one parent to overdose during the long-running addiction crisis in the U.S.
Researchers at NIDA, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention used data from the National Surveys on Drug Use and Health to complete the study. The study examined 649,599 adults, aged 18 to 64, who died of an overdose between 2011 and 2021.
Researchers estimated that 321,566 children lost a parent to a drug overdose.
Native American or Alaska Native families had the highest rate of parental overdoses at 187.1 deaths per 100,000 in 2021. That was more than double the rate of 76.5 deaths per 100,000 among children of white parents. Black parents had an overdose rate of 73.2 deaths per 100,000.
Volkow said children who lose a parent to an overdose face a higher risk of health and social issues such as substance abuse and mental health challenges. The study cited a “critical need” for policies that address substances abuse, including treatment and recovery
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services for parents, young families and people of childbearing age.
Even as the nation has expanded the use of harm-reduction strategies and availability of the overdose-reversal medication naloxone, the study noted there has been a lack of focus on parents. Researchers said interventions such as peer-to-peer parenting training often aren’t included in drug treatment.
When a child loses a parent, “that person is no longer there providing the support for the family and that leaves the children very unprotected,” Volkow said.