{"id":21768,"date":"2024-11-06T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-11-06T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/?p=21768"},"modified":"2026-03-05T09:36:30","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T17:36:30","slug":"drug-overdose-deaths-effect-on-children","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/drug-overdose-deaths-effect-on-children\/","title":{"rendered":"Over a million US children scarred by drug overdoses"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n    \n                                          \n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-hero \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-hero\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n<div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--image\">\n\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n              \n      <img\n                            data-src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/10\/greenaway_children_od_top-768x432.jpg\"\n          data-srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/10\/greenaway_children_od_top-1920x1080.jpg 1920w,https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/10\/greenaway_children_od_top-1280x720.jpg 1280w,https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/10\/greenaway_children_od_top-768x432.jpg 768w\"          data-sizes=\"(min-width:1200px) 75vw, (min-width:768px) 83vw, 100vw\"          class=\"lazyload\"\n        \n                  alt=\"Composite illustration depicts a sorrowful child on a darkened, ominous background\"\n        \n        \n                                      \/>\n\n    \n    \n  \n  \n\n<\/div>\n  \n      <div class=\"image-caption\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  Loss of family members to drug overdose, an increasing trend, takes a severe toll on children. (Composite: Letty Avila; Image source: iStock\/Pixabay.)\n\n\n<\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  \n  <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n          <nav aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\" class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n        <ul>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\">News<\/a><\/li>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\/?category=health\">Health<\/a><\/li>\n                  <\/ul>\n      <\/nav>\n    \n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--page-title\">\n\n    \n  <h1>Over a million US children scarred by drug overdoses<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n          <div class=\"subtitle\">\n            \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  As of 2019, more than 1.4 million children have lost a family member to a drug overdose, with younger children increasingly affected, according to a USC Dornsife study.\n\n\n<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    \n           <strong class=\"author-field\"><span >By<\/span><a href=\"mailto:communication@dornsife.usc.edu\">Ileana Wachtel<\/a><\/strong>\n    \n          <span class=\"post-date-field\">November 6, 2024<\/span>\n      <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--social-share \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--social-share\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"content-wrapper\">\n    <span class=\"a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list\" style=\"line-height: 32px;\">\n      <span class=\"title\">\n        Share\n      <\/span>\n                        <a class=\"a2a_button_copy_link\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#copy_link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Link\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_copy_link\">\n              <svg height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 19 19\" width=\"19\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m7.43475275 9.52380952-2.17490843 2.26076008c-1.08745421 1.058837-1.68841575 2.518315-1.68841575 4.0350275 0 1.5167124.60096154 2.9475732 1.68841575 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\n<div class=\"f--field f--section-title\">\n\n    \n  <h2>\n          Key points:\n      <\/h2>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n      <ul>\n              <li><p>As of 2019, an estimated 1.4 million U.S. children (under age 18) have lost a family member due to a drug overdose, according to a new USC Dornsife study.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n              <li><p>Children aged 10 and older in 2019 were three times more likely to have lost a relative to drug overdose, compared to those under 10.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n              <li><p>The number of younger children impacted by overdose-related loss is on the rise. Nearly 2% of children born in 2009 had lost a relative to an overdose by the time they turned 10, compared to just over 1% of those born in 2001.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n          <\/ul>\n  <\/div>\n  \n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--rich-text \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--rich-text\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n      \n<div class=\"f--field f--wysiwyg\">\n\n    \n  <p>An estimated 1.4 million U.S. children \u2014 2% of all children nationwide \u2014 had lost a family member to a drug overdose as of 2019, according to a <a href=\"https:\/\/ajph.aphapublications.org\/doi\/10.2105\/AJPH.2024.307847\">study<\/a> by researchers at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and Penn State University.<\/p>\n<p>The findings, published in the <em>American Journal of Public Health<\/em>, shed light on the often-overlooked emotional toll of overdose deaths on the youngest and most vulnerable members of society and provide the first concrete data quantifying its impact.<\/p>\n<p>Since 2006, <a href=\"https:\/\/usafacts.org\/articles\/opioid-addiction-deaths-and-treatment-latest-analysis-data\/\">opioid-related deaths<\/a> have been rising faster than those caused by other substances. In 2019, opioid overdose deaths were 2.4 times more common than non-opioid-related deaths. By 2022, they had become three times more common.<\/p>\n<h2>Drug overdose and the opioid crisis are reshaping childhoods<\/h2>\n<p>The study uncovered a troubling trend: About 2% of children born in 2009 lost a family member to an overdose by age 10, compared to just over 1% for those born in 2001.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe predict this percentage will climb even higher \u2014 possibly reaching 5% \u2014 by the time children born in 2009 turn 18,\u201d said <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/profile\/emily-smith-greenaway\/\">Emily Smith-Greenaway<\/a>, Dean\u2019s Professor of Sociology and professor of <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/soci\/\">sociology<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/spatial\/\">spatial sciences<\/a> at USC Dornsife. \u201cIt\u2019s alarming how much younger children are losing loved ones.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Co-author Ashton Verdery of Penn State underscored the concern. \u201cWe found that 5-year-olds are now experiencing loss at the same rate as 10-year-olds did 15 years ago,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, the researchers noted that the rate of family deaths from other causes has remained stable.<\/p>\n<h2>Drug overdose deaths fray family systems<\/h2>\n<p>The death of a family member, regardless of cause, can destabilize a child\u2019s life, often leading to long-term mental health struggles, academic challenges and even substance abuse later in life, according to childhood bereavement <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC8794619\/\">research<\/a>. One study found that adolescent boys, especially those who have lost a parent, are prone to alcohol and substance abuse.<\/p>\n<p>When the loss is due to a drug overdose, the trauma is often more intense because of the suddenness of the loss and the stigma that surrounds it, the researchers explained.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cChildren not only lose the support they need during critical developmental stages, but these losses often occur under traumatic and painful circumstances \u2014 the toll can last a lifetime,\u201d Smith-Greenaway said.<\/p>\n<p>While it wasn\u2019t surprising to the research team that children are 2 to 2.5 times more likely to lose a male relative than a female relative to overdose, the recent rise in overdose deaths among women is particularly concerning. Overdose deaths of women aged 35 to 44, especially those who are pregnant or postpartum, more than tripled between 2018 and 2021, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nih.gov\/news-events\/news-releases\/overdose-deaths-increased-pregnant-postpartum-women-early-2018-late-2021\">National Institutes of Health<\/a>. Smith-Greenaway noted that this trend could further strain already fragile family systems.<\/p>\n<h2>Broadening the research on drug overdose deaths<\/h2>\n<p>To estimate the number of children affected by familial overdose deaths, the researchers combined CDC data on causes of death related to drugs and fertility with U.S. Census population data from 2000 to 2019 \u2014 a period unaffected by the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n<p>While the study focused on immediate family members, Smith-Greenaway and Verdery suggest that the number of affected children would likely be higher if the deaths of friends, neighbors or stepparents had been included. Additionally, the sharp rise in overdose deaths between 2020 and 2023, not covered by the study, suggests that their estimates may understate the full scope of the crisis.<\/p>\n<h2>About the study<\/h2>\n<p>In addition to Smith-Greenaway and Verdery, the research team included Cayley Ryan-Claytor and Nilakshi Sarkar from Penn State University and former USC Dornsife PhD student Michelle Livings, now at Princeton University.<\/p>\n<p>The study was supported by the National Institute on Aging grant 1R01AG060949 and the Pennsylvania State University Population Research Institute, which is supported by Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development infrastructure grant P2C-HD041025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n  \n        \n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-related-stories \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-related-stories\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div 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affected.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":21769,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,24],"tags":[60,95,90],"class_list":["post-21768","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-social-impact","tag-research","tag-social-sciences","tag-sociology"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Over a million US children scarred by drug overdoses<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Over 1.4 million children lost a family member to a drug overdose as of 2019, with younger children increasingly affected: USC Dornsife study\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link 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