Seed Funding Candice Rule Exploring The outcomes and support needs of parents affected by adolescent substance abuse
Abstract
Adolescent substance misuse and abuse are complex public health concerns that are escalating worldwide (Schafer, 2011; Smith & Estefan, 2014). Although many adolescents do not move beyond experimentation (Usher, Jackson & O???Brien, 2005), surveillance data from the South African Community Epidemiology Network on Drug Use (SACENDU) shows that 20% (N=4485) of all patients admitted to treatment centres for substance abuse and addiction in 2014 alone were under the age of 20 in South Africa (Dada, 2015). Unlike adults, substance abusing adolescents turn to parents for continued support in dealing with the effects of substance abuse. In turn, the filial relationship demands that parents respond by helping and supporting the adolescent, regardless of the circumstances that they may have to confront in providing this assistance. It is in the nature of this symbiotic relationship that multiple complexities arise in relation to how parents manage and deal with the substance abusing adolescent.
