Please allow me to introduce myself: my name is Judy Engel and I recently completed my Ph.D. degree and a qualitative research study at The Pathway Program. The purpose of this article is to discuss the results of this study on The Pathway Program’s parent support group (more on that later).

My degree is in Psychology with the emphasis on learning and instruction. I have worked as a clinical social worker for various Hospice Organizations, and currently teach students living with an Intellectual Disability. So how did my doctoral studies and research end up at The Pathway Program? The answer to that question lies in my experience as a mother of a son living with a drug addiction:

Why I decided to study the effect of support groups on parents of addicts and substance users

During the past ten years, my son has participated in alcohol and drug rehabilitation programs in Arizona and out-of-state. However, it was a visit with a psychiatric drug and alcohol addiction specialist that spurred me to question the way I had been treated by some professionals in the rehabilitation industry. This specialist had been recommended as one of the “best” practitioners in addiction.

I had called and advised this addiction specialist that my son had expressed suicidal ideations since returning to Arizona from California for the treatment of an opioid addiction. The specialist asked to meet with me and my husband before evaluating our son.

We paid $500 dollars for a 50-minute session to learn that the alcohol and drug rehabilitation services previously offered to our son were significantly flawed in the eyes of the specialist. Additionally, the specialist refused to personally meet with our son and gave us a referral to a private and very expensive drug and alcohol treatment center outside of Arizona. The specialist ended the meeting with the following statement:

“You should prepare to lose your son to drug addiction within the next year.”

Being told to prepare for a substance passing put my husband and I into a state of shock as we silently walked to our car. Finally, my husband stated, “Did we really just pay $500 dollars to hear that our son may die? I have known that from the day I learned he was abusing drugs!”

My response was, “Yes we did, and I will not send our son to any treatment options suggested by that doctor. We will find someone who cares and doesn’t treat substance abusers like “The Walking Dead.” That someone ended up being Joshua Azevedo and the men and women of The Pathway Program.

During this time, the seeds of my study were born. Up until this point, we had been treated as part of the problem. I informed my husband that I was determined to find a science based theoretical model in the field of addiction that recognized parents of addicted children also needed help, support, and hope.

Substance abuse among young people in the United States

Substance use among young-adults in the United States has become a societal problem. One in seven young-adults qualified to be diagnosed with a SUD, and one in four young adults having used an illicit substance within the past thirty-days (SAMSHA, 2019). This level of substance use has the potential to significantly impact the quality-of-life of the parents of these young-adults.

Researchers in the past five years have reported there is a lack of empirically-based research providing information and best practices to benefit the needs of parents in the role of an Affected Family Member (AFM) of a child living with a Substance Use Disorder (SUD).

For the past few years, I have been working on a qualitative study to help determine the effect that support group participation has on parents of addicts, alcoholics, or substance abusers.

The effect of a loved one’s addiction on parents

The Stress Strain Coping Support (SSCS) theoretical model developed by Orford, Copello, Velleman and Templeton in 2010, was designed to support AFMs of individuals living with a SUD. The SSCS theoretical model centers on family health, designed to offer social support and effective coping measures to counter the stress and strain experienced by AFMs.

Dr. Orford has completed research on thousands of AFMs throughout the world. He has provided evidence-based data regarding the ongoing difficult circumstances of unpredictable chaos, moods, behaviors and possible aggression demonstrated by a family member living with a SUD.  In addition, parents of young-adults living with a SUD have reported feeling misunderstood, isolated, and overwhelmed. They are affected by chronic worry, disruption of relationships, loss of financial resources, and possible legal complications related to their young-adult children struggling with addiction (McCann & Lubman, 2018).

Dr. Orford noted AFMs deal with significant levels of ongoing family struggles and stress. These struggles can be in the form of chronic worry, disagreement, hostility, volatility, and sometimes violence, along with the inability to stop a loved one’s addiction. Furthermore, the stress and strain often result in mental, emotional, physical, relational, financial, and occupational problems for an AFM. In addition, Dr. Orford reported families affected by the disease of addiction use the following three coping models:

• Engagement (attempting to control your child’s addiction)
• Tolerant-inactive (putting up with your child’s addiction regardless of the cost to the parent)
• Withdrawal (loving your child while utilizing coping strategies that care for yourself while distancing yourself from the consequences faced by your child’s drug addiction.

The Study

The purpose of the study was to describe the influence that participation in a long-term support group had on components of parental quality-of-life. The methodology used in this qualitative research study involved the following:

1. A face-to-face interview with ten parents of young-adults living with a SUD who had attended a minimum of 12 parent-support meetings
2. A focus-group discussion with 5 of the professional substance abuse counselors at The Pathway Program
3. The completion of 2 Quality-of-Life Inventories completed by the interviewed parents. These were completed prior to attending the Parent Support Group at The Pathway Program and again after 12 weeks of participation.

The Results: Parents of of addicts overwhelmingly report that their quality of life improved with support group participation

The results overwhelmingly supported that parents’ Quality of Life significantly improved following a minimum of 12 weeks of participation in the Parent Support Group meetings. Parents and Counselors consistently reported the strength of the parent support group meetings were found in the overwhelming support and education offered by parents to parents. In addition, the substance abuse counselors were present to offer professional knowledge and support as needed. However, parents led the meetings and determined the meeting topics.

The following six major themes emerged from this qualitative research study:

1. Parents entering the support group felt their child’s SUD resulted in their child becoming a stranger whom they could not control
2. Parents entering the support group reported traumatic levels of distress and helplessness in relation to their child’s SUD
3. Parents’ anxiety about their child’s SUD damaged their health and wellbeing enough to impair their day-to-day functioning
4. Misconceptions about SUDs among parents’ social contacts resulted in feelings of being misunderstood, judged, and a lack of effective support
5. Parent and counselor emotional and social support, education, and skills training improved parents’ quality of life
6. Participation in the parent support group (PSG) improved parents’ quality of life through reduced anxiety, better coping, and reconnection with their child. Overall the results indicated that parents’ health and quality-of-life improved following participation in ‘The Pathway’ parent support group meetings.

Conclusions

So, do support groups for parents of drug addicts or alcoholics have a positive effect? Based on the results of this study, it appears so.

I am forever grateful to Joshua Azevedo and the men and women of The Pathway Program. Their dedication, insight, and leadership in the field of addiction has brought light into a dark arena where parents of adolescents and young-adults living with a SUD suffer and struggle to find hope. The recovery process is tough, and exists in a world full of blame and stigmatization.

I encourage professors of higher education and practitioners in the field of addictions recovery and mental health to take notice of this study. Together we can expand our knowledge and resources to support the parents of adolescents and young-adults suffering from a SUD.