Poll: 46% in U.S. have seen alcohol or drug abuse in family

Oct. 14 (UPI) -- Nearly half of all adults living in the United States have been affected by substance abuse in their families, a new survey said Monday.

Gallup said 46 percent of respondents said they have dealt with substance abuse, involving drugs or alcohol, in their family at some point.

Eighteen percent said they've dealt only with alcohol abuse, while 10 percent said only drugs. Another eighteen percent said they have dealt with abuses of both.

"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."

Persons in the West are more likely to see family substance abuse, Gallup said, while women are slightly more likely than men to experience it.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in July more than half of 4.2 million Americans who's abused prescription opioids also were binge drinkers.

Gallup first reported alcohol-related family problems in 1947, when 15 percent acknowledged having seen it. The figure increased in the 1970s and reached 36 percent in the late 1990s.

Gallup surveyed 2,500 adults for the poll, which has a margin of error of 2 points.