Parental Substance Misuse Research Articles

Working with Parental Substance Misuse: Dilemmas for Practice

Summary The impact of parental substance misuse on child welfare is now being increasingly recognized. Drug and alcohol problems feature in a substantial proportion of families where there are child-care concerns and raise issues about engagement, confidentiality, assessment and inter-agency practice. This article explores some of the dilemmas faced by social welfare professionals who work with substance misusing parents. Based on a qualitative analysis of 40 semi-structured interviews with a wide range of practitioners from both adult focused and child and family settings, in both the voluntary and statutory sector, a variety of emerging themes will be discussed and linked to those from other studies. The problems of working with denial, the tensions created by different agency objectives and protocols and the way in which children can often fall through gaps in services will be highlighted, as will the way in which some professionals have sought to resolve the dilemmas they encounter. This will then be used as a basis for beginning to look at constructive ways forward in relation to training, inter professional and inter-agency communication and service delivery.

Book Review: Parental Substance Misuse and Child Welfare

Book Review: Parental Substance Misuse and Child Welfare

Injury, nurse communication, sexual abuse and addiction, and child athletes

Child Abuse ReviewVolume 13, Issue 3 p. 173-175 EditorialFree Access Injury, nurse communication, sexual abuse and addiction, and child athletes David Gough, David GoughSearch for more papers by this authorNicky Stanley, Nicky StanleySearch for more papers by this author David Gough, David GoughSearch for more papers by this authorNicky Stanley, Nicky StanleySearch for more papers by this author First published: 24 June 2004 https://doi.org/10.1002/car.853AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. References Cawson P. 2002. Child Maltreatment in the Family. The Experience of a National Sample of Young People. NSPCC: London. Cohen JA, Mannarino AP, Zhitova AC, Capone MC. 2003. Treating child abuse-related posttraumatic stress and comorbid substance abuse in adolescents. Child Abuse and Neglect 27: 1345– 1365. Gough DA. 1996. Defining the problem. Child Abuse and Neglect, the International Journal 20: 993– 1002. Hayden C. 2004. Parental substance misuse and child care social work: research in a city social work department in England. Child Abuse Review 13: 18– 30. Jones DPH, Ramchandani P. 1999. Child Sexual Abuse. Informing Practice from Research. Radcliffe Medical Press: Oxford. Lord Laming. 2003. The Victoria Climbié Inquiry. Report of an Inquiry by Lord Laming. The Stationery Office: London. Sanders T, Cobley C, Coles L, Kemp Am. 2003. Factors affecting clinical referral of young children with subdural haemorrhage to child protection agencies. Child Abuse Review 12: 358– 373. Volume13, Issue3May/June 2004Pages 173-175 ReferencesRelatedInformation

Living with an elephant: Growing up with parental substance misuse

ABSTRACTAlthough parental substance misuse is now a focus of concern in child welfare practice, we know little about what it is really like for children who grow up in families where adult drug and/or alcohol use is an issue. Set against a backdrop of research links between parental substance misuse and child maltreatment, this article examines a number of studies that focus on the experiences of children and young people in this context. Emerging themes are identified which provide insight into the world of children for whom a substance is, effectively, a family member –‘the elephant in the living room’– and the implications for practice, particularly in relation to children's visibility, disclosure and confidentiality, are considered. It is argued that a focus on the ‘elephant’ often leads to children remaining ‘invisible’ to those whose role it is to ensure their welfare.

Parental Substance Misuse and Child Welfare

Parental Substance Misuse and Child Welfare

Parental substance misuse and child care social work: research in a city social work department in England

AbstractThis research set out to establish evidence about the scale and impact of and response to parental substance misuse in child care social work teams in a city social services department in England. The article draws on some aspects of the data collected in the research, which includes: a snapshot survey of all child care social work caseloads in the city; group interviews with practitioners and parents in recovery; individual interviews with parents using a pilot project that focused on parental substance misuse. The research provides evidence of parental substance misuse as a key factor that needs greater consideration within child care social work assessments and as an issue to target in developing preventative responses to child welfare concerns. Child care social workers are shown to need specialist support in undertaking this task to best effect. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Parental Substance Misuse and Child Welfare

Parental Substance Misuse and Child Welfare

Book Reviews

Drug and Alcohol ReviewVolume 22, Issue 4 p. 475-479 Book Reviews First published: 29 May 2009 https://doi.org/10.1080/09595230310001614001aAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Abstract Book reviewed in this article: Addiction: Questions and Answers for Counsellors and Therapists BILL READING & MICHAEL JACOBS, eds Substance Misuse in Psychosis: Approaches to Treatment and Service Delivery HERMINE L. GRAHAM, ALEX COPELLO, MAX J. BIRCHWOOD & KIM T. MUESER Managing the Dually Diagnosed Patient, 2nd edn DAVID O'CONNELL & EILEEN BEYER, eds International Handbook of Alcohol Dependence and Problems NICK HEATHER, TIMOTHY J. PETERS & TIM STOCKWELL, eds Beyond Advice: 1. Becoming a motivational practitioner 2. Developing motivational skills R. BOTELHO Parental Substance Misuse and Child Welfare BRYANNA KROLL & ANDY TAYLOR Straight Talk About Your Mental Health JAMES MORRISON Volume22, Issue4December 2003Pages 475-479 RelatedInformation

Parental substance misuse and its effect on children

This article explores the link between adult substance misuse and the effects such behaviour can have on children in their care. The implications for child development are considered. Child protection implications can be far reaching and children's longterm exposure to adult displays of behavioural loss of control can have detrimental effects upon their development. It is argued that parental substance misuse is not however, sufficient warrant to justify the child protection registration of children. This can act as an obstacle to enabling the parents to seek appropriate clinical intervention for their substance misuse problems (Standing Conference on Drug Abuse, 1989, now Drugscope). This article highlights the combined effect of these interactions on the development of children. Rather than an end in itself child protection assessment, with possible registration, should be viewed as a window of opportunity by agencies to respond to the needs of children with a range of possible responses dependent upon how serious the problems are.

Predictors of gambling problems among male adolescents

The study concerns prediction of gambling problems in 178 male adolescents (aged 16 and 18 years) who completed a questionnaire, which included the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS), a version of the Temperament and Character Inventory and a number of questions concerning social background, emotional and life‐style factors. About 27% of the boys gamble at least weekly. As many as 16% qualify as probable pathological gamblers according to the SOGS. Another 7% are at risk. None of the social background factors are related to severity of gambling problems. The only significant family factor is parental substance misuse. The optimal multivariate model predicts about 30% of the variance in gambling problems. The strongest factor is frequency of alcohol drinking. Several factors indicate a personality with problems in relations to others. Another factor indicates a dreamy personality. Unexpectedly, impulsiveness is not related to gambling. In conclusion, problem gambling among male adolescents is related to life‐style and personality, especially in relation to others, but not to usual social background factors. Gamblers are asocial rather than impulsive. The nature of this finding should be further explored, since an asocial personality may point at genetics as well as to early social influences, as may the finding on the relation between gambling and parental drinking.

Parental substance misuse and child protection in a British sample. A survey of children on the child protection register in an inner London district office

Parental substance misuse and child protection in a British sample. A survey of children on the child protection register in an inner London district office

Parental substance misuse and child protection in a British sample. A survey of children on the child protection register in an inner London district office

The relationship between parental misuse of alcohol and/or illegal drugs and child maltreatment has received considerable attention in the USA, while comparatively few British studies have been published. In both countries, research suggests that it is a large and growing problem and that it has a significant negative impact on children. This study looks at 50 families with 95 children on the Child Protection Register (CPR) in an inner London area through an examination of files and social workers' rating of parental substance misuse as a child protection concern. Parental substance use, as defined by social workers, was considered by social workers to be a cause for concern in 52% of families. Alcohol (in 24% of families) and heroin (in 16%) were the main substances of concern. Substance misuse was strongly related to neglect and cases were twice as likely to be subject to care proceedings. Very little involvement of substance misuse professionals in child protection procedures was found. Different profiles of social work concern were found for alcohol and for illegal drugs. Reasons for this difference and areas for further research are discussed. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Social worlds in collision: When policy meets policy on parental substance abuse

The risk of child abuse and neglect is higher in families where the parent(s) abuse substances, with the highest incidence in families where both parents abuse alcohol. The interplay between parental substance misuse and child maltreatment has become a crucial issue in statutory child protection work and consequently for those who work intensively with clients in their homes. Not all children of substance-abusing parents are ‘at risk’ of harm, however, and abstention from drug usage is not always a helpful treatment goal, nor indeed does it necessarily reduce the harm to a child under protective scrutiny.

PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER IN YOUTH SUICIDE

Fifty-eight consecutive suicides committed between 1984 and 1987 by adolescents and young adults (age 15-29 years) from an urban community were the subject of retrospective investigations through interviews with survivors and analyses of registers and medical records. Psychoactive substance use disorder in accordance with DSM-III-R was present in 47% of the youth suicides investigated, predominantly as alcohol dependence. Substance use disorder often coexisted with a borderline personality disorder or schizophrenia. Secondary depression was a frequent final factor. Dependence had developed in all females and most males. The median duration of substance use was 9 years. Substance use preceded suicidal behaviour by two years. Exposure to parental substance misuse during childhood, early parental divorce and parasuicide in the family were more frequent among subjects with substance use disorder than among other subjects. The social situation was often characterized by unemployment and legal problems. Previous inpatient care was more common than among other subjects.