REFLECTIONS ON THE EXPERIENCES AND NEEDS OF GRANDPARENTS CARING FOR THEIR GRANDCHILDREN WITH A SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER

Linda Shirindi,Peter Schultz

doi:10.15270/55-4-757

Abstract

In South Africa grandparents play a significant role in family life. A qualitative study was undertaken to explore and describe the perspectives of grandparents caring for their grandchildren with substance use disorder (SUD). Data were collected by means of semi-structured interviews with grandmothers and analysed following Tesch’s eight steps. Guba’s classic model was employed for data verification. The findings revealed that grandparents experience heightened levels of stress, fear, intimidation, disappointment, shame and financial constraints, which may subsequently compromise their social wellbeing. Based on these findings, recommendations are made in an attempt to provide solutions to the challenges faced by grandparents

Highlights

The phenomenon of substance use disorder (SUD) is of great concern because of the severe impact it has on individuals, families and communities (Van Heerden, Grimsrud, Seedat, Myers, Williams & Stein, 2011; Mpanza, 2014)
Data collected from 14 specialist treatment centres in Gauteng on a monthly basis during the period of January to June 2016 indicate a high profile of patients admitted to receive substance abuse treatment among males (86%) as compared to females (14%) (South African Community Epidemiology Network on Drug Use [SACENDU], 2017)
The experiences reflected by the participants in the study can broadly be divided into two subthemes, namely the effects of substance abuse and related behaviour of grandchildren on their grandparents, and the latter’s emotional response to their situation

Summary

Introduction

The phenomenon of substance use disorder (SUD) is of great concern because of the severe impact it has on individuals, families and communities (Van Heerden, Grimsrud, Seedat, Myers, Williams & Stein, 2011; Mpanza, 2014). The experiences reflected by the participants in the study can broadly be divided into two subthemes, namely the effects of substance abuse and related behaviour of grandchildren on their grandparents, and the latter’s emotional response to their situation.

Results

Conclusion