31.03.2025 - If your parents struggle with alcohol or drug addiction, there’s a good chance your grandparents did too. New data from the organization TUBA shows that addiction problems are passed down through generations. The organization emphasizes the need for stronger preventive efforts to support young people in breaking this negative social legacy.
It’s not just eye color and hair color that are inherited. Addiction problems can be as well. New figures from TUBA, an organization that offers help to young people from families affected by alcohol or drug abuse, show that 47 percent also have grandparents with alcohol problems.
“The numbers clearly show that problems in families with addiction are often inherited across several generations. It strongly confirms what we already know at TUBA. There is a need for improved preventive efforts that can help young people break the pattern and prevent addiction problems from being passed on,” says Kåre Skarsholm, national director of TUBA.
This figure is part of a broader dataset on young people from families with alcohol and drug abuse, recently published by TUBA. The data is based on survey responses from 1,671 young people aged 14–35 who began therapeutic treatment at TUBA in 2024.
Addiction rarely stands alone
In families where addiction is present, it’s rarely the only problem. Often, there are overlapping forms of neglect, challenges, and dysfunction at home.
In the same survey, 64 percent said they had been subjected to psychological abuse, while 42 percent reported experiencing physical violence or threats of violence in their childhood home. 55 percent believe their father—and 46 percent their mother—suffers from a mental illness. In addition, 26 percent reported that one of their parents was, or possibly was, involved in criminal activity during their childhood.
The more forms of neglect a child is exposed to, the greater the risk of developing a wide range of psychological, social, and health challenges later in life. Young people from families with addiction more often struggle with issues such as anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, and loneliness compared to their peers. They are also at higher risk for psychiatric hospitalization and suicidal behavior. Among the young people who attended TUBA in 2024, 27 percent had attempted or threatened suicide.
Potential for positive change
According to the Danish Health Authority, one in ten children grows up in a family with alcohol abuse. A study from the Centre for Alcohol and Drug Research suggests that one in seven grows up with parents who misuse either alcohol or drugs. Research also shows that around 40 percent of those who grow up in families with addiction go on to develop an addiction themselves.
The scale of the problem is significant—so is the potential to help thousands of young people break the negative patterns often passed down through generations, says Kåre Skarsholm.
“Young people from families with addiction are often just as burdened as their parents. As a society, we tend to focus on helping the person with the addiction, while the children and young people are often forgotten. If we dare to see them and give them the help they need, there is enormous potential to stop addiction from being passed on,” says TUBA’s national director, Kåre Skarsholm.
Prevention works
With the release of this new data, TUBA is also presenting a series of recommendations to improve conditions for young people from families with addiction. Among other things, the organization calls for much greater focus on the long-term and serious consequences of growing up with addiction, as well as increased support for young people over the age of 25.
Offering support to young adults to break the cycle of negative social inheritance is an important part of preventive work, the organization notes. This can reduce the risk of the addiction pattern repeating itself and give young adults the opportunity to build more stable lives with greater well-being and balance—benefiting both the individual and society as a whole.
Source: https://tuba.dk/