Degenerate

Degenerate Prefix: "De-" from Latin, from dē (prep) from, away from, out of, etc. Therefore a Degenerate is someone who has had taken away some quality that was present in former generations, or their younger self. It's self-fulfilling because once "Degenerated," people often go on to further make poor choices in the preservation of themselves. I don't wanna speak evil of people's choice of baby-parent (parenting's hard enough, as it is) but whether through abuse, self-abuse, poor choices or luck; they degenerate into a worse, or simpler condition. This can affect other people as well. Sadly; the ability to retain their own problems diminishes and they become everybody's problem (not that discussing problems is always a bad thing). Confessing the fear of Degenerates and Degeneracy might just save yer ass...