Addressing Trauma-Linked Intergenerational Addiction In Black Women

Black women face high rates of intergenerational addiction, according to a recent Penn State study.

Though people of all races and genders have a greater risk of addiction when a parent misuses substances, Black women face unique stressors that add to this risk.

The study notes that when Black families experience intergenerational substance use, trauma plays a major role.

Racial And Gender-Based Discrimination

Substance use disorders (SUDs) are complicated conditions with multiple risk factors. One prominent risk factor comes from chronic stress and trauma.

Marginalized people, including Black women, face a large amount of stress and trauma due to discrimination.

For Black women, this trauma becomes compounded, as they face both racial and gender-based discrimination.

A Lack Of Access To Resources

When people face chronic stress and trauma, they may turn to drugs and alcohol for relief.

For instance, a person may use opioids to numb negative feelings, or they may misuse stimulants to deal with the energy-draining effects of stress.

However, when people have resources such as social support and mental health services, they may find healthier coping mechanisms to deal with their stress.

Black women have fewer of these resources than their white peers. For example, among people who have a mental health diagnosis, 37.6% of white people receive treatment, while only 25% of Black people do.

Several factors contribute to this gap, including cost, lack of culturally responsive treatment options, distrust of the healthcare system rooted in historical mistreatment, and the social stigma around mental health and addiction that can be particularly pronounced in some communities.

This lack of treatment and support leaves many Black women without an outlet to cope with stressors, which often leads to substance use disorder.

The Link Between Trauma And Substance Use Disorder

Substance use disorder has a strong connection to trauma. People who experience trauma, including trauma resulting from racial and gender discrimination, face a higher risk of substance use disorder.

Once again, trauma often leads people to misuse drugs and alcohol as a way to cope with difficult mental health symptoms.

Likewise, people who use substances are more likely to experience traumatic events than those who do not use substances.

Therefore, trauma and substance use disorder can create a vicious cycle. The trauma resulting from substance use disorder may cause people to use even more substances to cope.

How Substance Use Disorder Becomes Intergenerational

Addiction not only impacts the person who experiences it. It also impacts that person’s loved ones.

In many cases, this impact can cause the use of substances and SUDs to be passed from one generation to the next.

Genetics And Family History

Genetics and family history play a role in addiction, regardless of race. Some people are genetically predisposed to substance use disorder.

While genetic predisposition does not guarantee that a person will experience addiction, it does mean that they have a higher risk of turning to substances when faced with trauma and stress.

Furthermore, simply being exposed to drugs and alcohol at a young age is a risk factor for addiction. As a result, when a parent uses substances, their children face a heightened risk of addiction as well.

Intergenerational Cycles Of Trauma

The Black American community has a long history of traumatic experiences.

Throughout American history, Black people have faced enslavement, inhumane medical experimentation, denial of civil rights, and several other major abuses, which can result in trauma.

When a person experiences trauma, it can impact their children, and not simply because a parent with trauma may behave differently than a parent without trauma.

Emerging research in epigenetics suggests that trauma may create heritable changes in a person’s biology, potentially influencing stress responses in future generations. Scientists also note that this area of study is still developing.

These changes may result in heightened fear responses in the children of trauma survivors, which, for some people, may contribute to substance use disorder.

Furthermore, the stress of witnessing a parent experience substance use disorder can also create trauma, leaving many children at an even greater risk for addiction.

It’s important to know that protective factors can reduce the risk of intergenerational addiction. Strong community ties, access to culturally affirming mental health care, and open family conversations about substance use and trauma have all been shown to lower risk, even among those with a family history of addiction.

Find Addiction Care Now

Addiction and trauma often overlap, and both conditions are complex and difficult. However, trauma-informed addiction treatment can help people begin their recovery.

Trauma-informed care recognizes the role trauma plays in substance use disorder. Rather than focusing solely on the addiction itself, trauma-informed programs address the underlying experiences that contribute to it, including racial trauma and chronic stress.

For Black women navigating intergenerational addiction, finding a program that understands this context can make a meaningful difference in treatment outcomes.

If you or a loved one is dealing with addiction, contact Addiction Resource today to learn how to start your journey toward recovery.

Written by the Addiction Resource Editorial Staff