Stress and strain: a qualitative study into the impact of having relatives with addiction problems on students' health and daily lives

Dorine M. van Namen*, Vera Knapen, AnneLoes van Staa, Hein de Vries, Sander R. Hilberink, Gera E. Nagelhout

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Purpose To explore the impact of having relatives with addiction problems on students' health, substance use, social life, and cognitive functioning, and to establish possible contributions of the participants' gender, type of relationship, and type of addiction of the relative(s). Methods A qualitative, cross-sectional study of semi-structured interviews with thirty students from a University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands who had relatives with addiction problems. Results Nine major themes were identified: (1) violence; (2) death, illness, and accidents of relatives; (3) informal care; (4) perception of addiction; (5) ill health, use of alcohol and illegal drugs; (6) financial problems; (7) pressured social life; (8) affected cognitive functioning, and(9) disclosure. Conclusions Having relatives with addiction problems severely affected the life and health of participants. Women were more likely to be informal carers, to experience physical violence, and to choose a partner with addiction problems than men. Conversely, men more often struggled with their own substance use. Participants who did not share their experiences reported more severe health complaints. It was impossible to make comparisons based on the type of relationship or type of addiction because participants had more than one relative or addiction in the family.
Original languageEnglish
Article number2223864
Number of pages17
JournalInternational Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-Being
Volume18
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 31 Dec 2023

Keywords

  • Addiction
  • family
  • stress
  • strain
  • family history of alcoholism
  • qualitative
  • Affected Family Members (AFM)
  • violence
  • mental health
  • university students
  • >
  • ADOLESCENT SUBSTANCE USE
  • ADULT CHILDREN
  • ALCOHOL-PROBLEMS
  • FAMILY-MEMBERS
  • YOUNG-PEOPLE
  • HARMS

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