Understanding recovery from a family perspective: A survey of life in recovery for families

Conclusion Family members of people in addiction and recovery have important things to say, and yet their voices are rarely heard. While there is a well-established research evidence base showing the impact of addiction on the lives of drinkers (and other substance users) themselves, this is the first piece of work that illustrates the impact – across multiple domains – on family members around dependent drinkers. The effect of living with a family member who is dependent on alcohol or other substances is substantial and long-lasting: over 70% of participating family members reporting lifetime emotional or mental health problems, and over one-third suffered from those problems at the time of the survey. Whether the person with substance use issue is currently using clearly affects the wellbeing of family members. Those family members who reported that a loved one was in recovery showed markedly better functioning across all of the areas of physical and psychological health, and quality of life than when the loved one had relapsed. In other words, family members are not only positively influenced by the recovery of the dependent drinker, they are also susceptible to reversals if these gains are lost. This is critical given the finding that the impact of recovery crosses so many domains of the family members’ lives. Further Information The Families living with addiction and recovery questionnaire. Footnotes 1 ‘Recovery’ is used here to describe the period ...
Source: Alcohol Research UK - Category: Addiction Authors: Tags: Alcohol Insights Source Type: news