The guilty verdict in the Hunter Biden trial is certain to be a source of deep pain for the Biden family. The scene of family members sitting in the courtroom during the trial, silently rallying to him, was a familiar one for many Americans whose families have dealt with the addictions. In a 2023 Suffolk University poll, 19 percent said yes when asked if any member of their family had a diagnosed or undiagnosed addiction problem “like drugs, gambling, alcohol, online gaming, or other addictions.” In a broader question in a 2023 Kaiser Family Foundation poll, 29 percent said they or a family member had ever been addicted to any illegal drug. Fifty-four gave that response about addiction to alcohol and 24 percent to prescription pain killers.

Those with personal family experiences with addiction said it had a major impact on their mental health (33 percent), their family finances (29 percent), and their family relationships (42 percent). Experiences with addiction are widespread, crossing income, racial and ethnic, and urbanicity lines, but some groups have been affected more than others. Kaiser notes, for example, that “White adults are more likely than Black adults and Hispanic adults to say someone in their family has ever experienced addiction or overdose (67 percent compared to 58 percent and 56 percent, respectively).”

Polling sheds some light on how Americans’ thinking about some of the problems associated with addictions has changed over time. Survey responses on drinking have been consistent since Gallup began asking about it in 1939. That year 58 percent said they had occasion to use alcoholic beverages and 42 percent did not.  Those responses today are 62 percent and 38 percent, respectively. Gallup began exploring the problems associated with drinking in 1948, when 15 percent said that drinking had been “a cause of trouble” in their family. The last time Gallup asked the question in 2023, twice as many, 30 percent, gave that response. We don’t know from these polling questions whether the problem has grown worse or whether people are just more willing to share the information with a pollster. My own study of broad currents in public opinion suggests that, starting perhaps in the late 1950s or early 1960s, Americans became more willing to talk about matters once considered private or taboo. The emotional reticence of earlier generations was disappearing. In the 2023 Kaiser poll, 13 percent admitted that they themselves have felt that they may be addicted.

Gambling has long been popular in America. In 1941, 60 percent told Gallup they had bought a lottery ticket, bet on an election or sports game, played a game of cards for money or another game of chance. Gallup’s trend on gambling as a source of family problems isn’t as old as its alcoholism trend. In 1989, four percent indicated that this had been a cause of problems. In 2016, seven percent gave that response.

Americans believe gambling is morally acceptable. In a 2023 Gallup poll, 69 percent (up from 63 percent 20 years ago) agreed, and a quarter said it was not. In a 2024 Ipsos poll, 61 percent said people should be allowed to gamble and spend money as they want, while 36 percent felt that sports betting is wrong because it promotes activities that can lead to addiction. In the poll, 15 percent said they placed a live bet on a sporting event weekly or multiple times a week.

In 1974, when the Roper Organization asked about some major problems in society, the top response was drug addiction (90 percent), followed by alcoholism (78 percent), marijuana (67 percent), cigarette smoking (51 percent), and gambling (31 percent). The 2023 Kaiser Family Foundation poll found that 12 percent believed gambling addiction was a crisis in the nation (58 percent a major problem). Nearly three in 10, 29 percent, described alcohol addiction as a crisis (61 percent a major problem). By contrast, 51 percent gave that response about rising drug overdoses separately, 51 percent the opioid epidemic (more than 35 percent said both were major problems). In 2024 Pew Research Center polling, 55 percent, down from 70 percent in 2019, said drug addiction was a very big problem in the country. While concern may be down in the national polls, it isn’t for many families who deal with it.

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