ArticleBMC psychiatry2017
Affected family members' experience of, and coping with, aggression and violence within the context of problematic substance use: a qualitative study.
Article in BMC psychiatry, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 50 citations in OpenAlex.
- Challenges in addiction-affected families: a systematic review of qualitative studies.BMC psychiatry · 2023Pooled it
- Addiction across substance use, gambling, and screen: a scoping review of coping strategies adopted by concerned significant others.Substance abuse treatment, prevention, and policy · 2026Article
- Violence exposure and quality of life among partners and parents of individuals with substance use problems.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- A Web-Based Well-Being and Resilience Intervention for Family Members and Friends Supporting a Loved One Using Alcohol and Other Drugs: Mixed Methods Pilot Study.JMIR formative research · 2025Article
- Article
- "He is lovely and awful": The challenges of being close to an individual with alcohol problems.Nordisk alkohol- & narkotikatidskrift : NAT · 2022Article
- The Association Between Family Violence, Depression and Anxiety Among Women Whose Partners Have Been Treated for Alcohol Dependence.Journal of family violence · 2022Article
- Mixing qualitative methods versus methodologies: A critical reflection on communication and power in inpatient care.Counselling and psychotherapy research · 2021Article
- Family members' lived experiences of non-compliance to psychiatric medication given to female adults living with depression.Curationis · 2021Article
- The salience of intimate partner violence to coping and social support for intimate partners of people with addictions.Alcoholism treatment quarterly · 2020Article
- The Effect of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy on the Burden in Drug Dependent Persons' Caregivers: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial.Iranian journal of nursing and midwifery researchArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundFamilies have an important role supporting a family member with problematic substance use (PSU), although this can often be challenging and confronting. Previous research has identified high rates of family aggression and violence within the context of PSU, although few studies have examined this issue from the perspective of affected family members (AFMs) supporting a member with PSU. The aims of the current study were to understand AFMs' experience of aggression and violence while supporting a member with PSU, and to explicate the strategies they used to prevent and cope with this behaviour.
methodsSemi-structured, audio-recorded qualitative interviews were conducted with 31 AFMs from the state of Victoria in Australia. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used to guide data collection and analysis.
resultsAlmost 70% of participants experienced PSU-related family aggression and/or violence. Two main themes and related sub-themes were abstracted from the data capturing their experiences of this behaviour and the strategies they used to try to prevent and cope in this situation. Aggression and/or violence were variable, changeable and unpredictable; and aggression and/or violence altering social interactions and family dynamics. As a consequence, it was upsetting, stressful and emotionally exhausting to AFMs. In response to this experience, and largely through trial and error, they used several direct strategies to try to prevent and cope with the behaviour; however, most continued to struggle in these circumstances. They also highlighted additional indirect measures, which, if adopted, would enhance their existing direct strategies.
conclusionsMore effective primary, secondary and tertiary preventive measures are needed to address family aggression and violence within the context of PSU. More support is needed for family members affected by PSU to enable them to 'stand up to,' to prevent and cope effectively with this behaviour, and to increase their help-seeking and access to specialist services and support groups. More appropriate policies and social services are needed to meet the needs of AFMs.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.