Families’ experiences of substance use and implications for resilience

Context: Substance use disorders (SUD) significantly impact the physical, social, and mental health of individuals, their families, and the wider community. Parental substance use, a recognized adverse childhood experience (ACE), can lead to long-term social and health difficulties for adults and children. Recovery is a unique, multidimensional process where individuals strive to enhance their health and wellness. The existing literature does not adequately address substance use within the context of family and community resilience.

Objective: This study explored resilience within families affected by SUD, aiming to identify family experiences of substance use and implications for resilience.

Study Design & Analysis: Arts-based qualitative methods and community based participatory methods were employed. Participating families created a visual timeline and participated in individual and family interviews. The qualitative transcripts were then analyzed following a reflexive thematic analysis.

Setting or Dataset: The study was part of a larger project exploring individual and community adversity and resilience.

Population Studied: Families were recruited within the Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox, and Addington area in 2022 and 2023.

Outcome Measures: Themes identified from the reflexive thematic analysis addressing factors that highlight families’ experiences of substance use and its role in shaping resilience.

Results: Nine families completed all aspects of the study, while one family only completed the timeline interview. The analysis identified five themes: (1) The role of children as motivators for recovery from substance use; (2) The journey of recovery as a family unit; (3) The importance of maintaining social relationships during recovery; (4) Family perceptions of community safety and trust; and (5) Community-suggested solutions for substance use and community safety.

Conclusions: The study highlights the significant impact of family and community on the recovery and well-being of individuals affected by SUD. It emphasizes the importance of creating addiction services and social environments that support families, particularly families in recovery. There is a need to improve service navigation and address the barriers to care commonly experienced by individuals affected by SUD. Policymakers should consider the specific needs of these families to provide safe, accessible addictions services and potentially reduce the effects of ACEs.