Study reveals impact of overdose deaths on U.S. children

The opioid crisis is reshaping childhoods

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.

Ashton Verdery, co-author and professor of sociology and social data analytics at Penn State, underscored the concern. "We found that 5-year-olds are now experiencing loss at the same rate as 10-year-olds did 15 years ago," he said.

Fraying of family systems

"Children not only lose the support they need during critical developmental stages, but these losses often occur under traumatic and painful circumstances – the toll can last a lifetime," said Smith-Greenaway.

Broadening the scope of research

About the study

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.

The study was supported by the National Institute on Aging grant 1R01AG060949 and the Pennsylvania State University Population Research Institute, which is supported by infrastructure grant P2C-HD041025 by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

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University of Southern California

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