Enhancing Practitioner Skills: Insights from Children of Substance-Using Parents

As practitioners, we constantly seek ways to improve our skills and provide the best outcomes for the children we serve. A recent systematic review titled A Systematic Review of Qualitative Studies Exploring Lived Experiences, Perceived Impact, and Coping Strategies of Children and Young People Whose Parents Use Substances offers valuable insights that can help us achieve this goal.

Key Findings and Themes

The review synthesized qualitative evidence from 35 studies, covering the experiences of over 700 children and young people. Five overarching themes emerged:

• Living with the Unpredictable: Children often experience insecurity within the family due to the erratic nature of parental substance use.
• Social and Emotional Impact: The emotional toll includes feelings of sadness, anxiety, and even guilt. These children also face social stigma and isolation.
• Controlling the Uncontrollable: Many children develop coping strategies to create a sense of safety within their unpredictable environments.
• Coping and Resisting: Children employ various strategies to manage the emotional and social impacts, ranging from mindfulness to externalizing behaviors.
• Support Systems: Both formal and informal support systems play a crucial role, although many children rely more on informal support due to accessibility issues.

Implications for Practice

The findings emphasize the need for ongoing emotional support for children, even during periods of parental abstinence. Here are some actionable steps for practitioners:

• Implement Trauma-Informed Care: Assume that all children have experienced some form of trauma and create a nurturing, non-stigmatizing environment.
• Focus on Relational Practices: Build trust-based relationships and ensure that children are at the center of decision-making processes.
• Provide Ongoing Support: Offer continuous emotional and social support alongside strategies to reduce parental substance use.
• Reduce Stigma: Be mindful of how stigma can exacerbate experiences for children, especially those displaying externalized behaviors.

Encouraging Further Research

While the review provides a comprehensive understanding, it also highlights gaps that need further exploration. More research is needed to develop effective, child-centered interventions and to understand the diversity within this population. Coproducing interventions with young people who have lived experience can lead to more engaging and sustainable solutions.

To read the original research paper, please follow this link: A Systematic Review of Qualitative Studies Exploring Lived Experiences, Perceived Impact, and Coping Strategies of Children and Young People Whose Parents Use Substances.