Fractured families: parental perspectives of the effects of adolescent drug abuse on family life
- PMID: 17343535
- DOI: 10.5555/conu.2006.23.2.321
Fractured families: parental perspectives of the effects of adolescent drug abuse on family life
Abstract
Drug use in young people has serious ramifications for health and well-being of young people and their families and continues to be an area of major concern for health workers. Though the task of dealing with drug-related problems falls on families, particularly parents, very little literature has explored parental experiences of managing drug use within the context of family life. Eighteen parents of drug-abusing young people were recruited into this qualitative study that aimed to develop understandings into the effects of adolescent drug use on family life. Findings revealed that the experience of having a drug-abusing adolescent family member had a profound effect on other members of the immediate family. Family relationships were fractured and split as a result of the on-going destructive and damaging behaviour of the drug-abusing young person. Five themes were identified that captured the concept of fractured families. These are: betrayal and loss of trust: 'You had to have the doors locked'; abuse, threats and violence: 'there were holes in the wall'; sibling anger and resentment: 'Better off now with him gone'; isolated, disgraced and humiliated: 'You are on your own with it'; and, feeling blamed: 'You are not a good parent'. Implications for practice and further research are drawn from the findings of this paper.
Similar articles
-
Daily living with distress and enrichment: the moral experience of families with ventilator-assisted children at home.Pediatrics. 2006 Jan;117(1):e48-60. doi: 10.1542/peds.2005-0789. Pediatrics. 2006. PMID: 16396848
-
Adolescent drug abuse: helping families survive.Int J Ment Health Nurs. 2005 Sep;14(3):209-14. doi: 10.1111/j.1440-0979.2005.00383.x. Int J Ment Health Nurs. 2005. PMID: 16181159 Review.
-
Family pediatrics: report of the Task Force on the Family.Pediatrics. 2003 Jun;111(6 Pt 2):1541-71. Pediatrics. 2003. PMID: 12777595
-
Children of substance abusers: overview of research findings.Pediatrics. 1999 May;103(5 Pt 2):1085-99. Pediatrics. 1999. PMID: 10224196 Review.
-
Shattered dreams: parental experiences of adolescent substance abuse.Int J Ment Health Nurs. 2007 Dec;16(6):422-30. doi: 10.1111/j.1447-0349.2007.00497.x. Int J Ment Health Nurs. 2007. PMID: 17995513
Cited by
-
Stress and strain: a qualitative study into the impact of having relatives with addiction problems on students' health and daily lives.Int J Qual Stud Health Well-being. 2023 Dec;18(1):2223864. doi: 10.1080/17482631.2023.2223864. Int J Qual Stud Health Well-being. 2023. PMID: 37422698 Free PMC article.
-
Challenges in addiction-affected families: a systematic review of qualitative studies.BMC Psychiatry. 2023 Jun 16;23(1):439. doi: 10.1186/s12888-023-04927-1. BMC Psychiatry. 2023. PMID: 37328763 Free PMC article.
-
The Metamorphosis. The impact of a young family member's problematic substance use on family life: a meta-ethnography.Int J Qual Stud Health Well-being. 2023 Dec;18(1):2202970. doi: 10.1080/17482631.2023.2202970. Int J Qual Stud Health Well-being. 2023. PMID: 37079289 Free PMC article. Review.
-
"He is lovely and awful": The challenges of being close to an individual with alcohol problems.Nordisk Alkohol Nark. 2022 Feb;39(1):89-104. doi: 10.1177/14550725211044861. Epub 2021 Oct 13. Nordisk Alkohol Nark. 2022. PMID: 35308468 Free PMC article.
-
Coronary heart disease in mothers and fathers of adult children with alcohol use disorders.Addiction. 2021 Dec;116(12):3390-3397. doi: 10.1111/add.15591. Epub 2021 Jun 21. Addiction. 2021. PMID: 34060172 Free PMC article.
MeSH terms
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Medical