Substance use disorders are pediatric disorders

By Patrick Adrian
[email protected]
WINDSOR, Vt. — Strong community relationships and healthy habits are important tools in teaching children how to cope with stressors and adverse events in life, according to Family Wellness Therapist Katrin Tchana of Mount Ascutney Hospital in Windsor.

Tchana interviewed with mental health writer Elizabeth Kelsey on the topic of childhood trauma and substance abuse for a health education video released this week on Windsor On Air.

Green Peak Alliance, formerly known as the Windsor County Prevention Partners, produced the video as the latest installment in a series titled “For Your Health.”

The Green Peak Alliance is a nonprofit substance-prevention group that collaborates with communities across Windsor and Orange counties to build strong community-based solutions to addiction.

While traumatic experiences do not necessarily lead to substance abuse, nor does substance abuse necessitate having undergone trauma. Tchana told Kelsey that traumatic experiences during early childhood can increase a youth’s risk to develop substance abuse.

“Very often traumatic experience is not dealt with before a child begins to experiment with substances,” Tchana said. She told Kelsey that many children begin to show signs of substance abuse disorder between the ages of 12 through 14, though some children began experimenting with substances as early as age 10.

“These children find that they really like the way [the substance] makes them feel, because it calms their anxiety or makes them forget about traumatic events,” Tchana said. “They often want to repeat that experience [with the substance], which makes them more prone to developing substance misuse.”

Tchana also said that children who struggle with trauma are more at risk to form unhealthy relationships, which can introduce the youth to substances or encourage substance youth through peer pressure.

Tchana said that substance use disorders are generally considered “pediatric disorders,” because studies show that people generally develop these disorders when they are young. This does not mean that a person cannot develop a substance abuse problem as an adult. However, people who begin using a substance in adulthood are more likely to use it appropriately or stop the use, because they likely had more experience in childhood dealing positively with stressors and adverse experiences without a substance dependency.

Resilience to trauma

“Why are some children more resilient to trauma than others?” Kelsey asked.

Tchana said that many factors play into a child’s resilience, including biological determinants.

People are individuals, Tchana told Kelsey. Children who are sensitive to their environment tend to have a stronger reaction if something bad happens, whereas others may not see those events as significant.

That said, a child’s ability to develop healthy habits and coping tools when young are more likely to handle stressful or adverse experiences effectively as adults, according to Tchana. Studies show that exercise, maintaining physical health, connections with nature or animals, even playing a musical instrument or singing help children manage stress better.

Strong community connections is another critical resource.

“We tend to be too isolated in our society,” Tchana said. “So if a child is isolated at home with stressed out parents, if something bad happens at home, they might not have the connections to ameliorate that trauma.”

This need for social connections applies as much to adults as to their children, Tchana said.

“The more connections a child has and the more opportunities a parent has to make connections, the more resilient our society will be,” Tchana said.

The problem of poverty

“Poverty is a stressor in itself that can trigger other traumatic events,” Tchana said.

She asked Kelsey to remember a time when she worried about money and about how short a fuse one can have when that anxiety is coupled with demands for payment.

“Now think about when someone is worrying about that constantly,” Tchana said.

Children living in poverty absorb much of the stress exhibited by their parents, as well as adverse events that often occur from generational poverty.

Community resources like community lunch programs and youth mentorships help alleviate stress for families and provide healthy relationships for youth to build resilience, Tchana said.

“The more adults who can reach out to young families, the more teachers, neighbors, doctors and community members who offer support, the better off everyone’s going to be,” Tchana said.