Almost Half of Adults Have Been Affected By Family Problems with Drugs or Alcohol

Almost half of American adults say they have been affected by problems with drugs or alcohol in their families, according to a new Gallup poll.

UPI reports 46% of respondents said they have dealt with problems with drugs and/or alcohol in their families at some point. The poll found 18% said they have dealt only with alcohol problems, while 10% have dealt only with drug problems. An additional 18% said they have dealt with both drug and alcohol problems.

“Both questions are lifetime measures, asking Americans if drinking or drug abuse has ever been a problem in their family,” researcher Lydia Saad said. “It might be expected that the rates of reported problems would increase by age, given that older Americans have had more time to accumulate life experiences, but that is not the case.”