Exploring the problems and needs of women whose spouses are involved in substance use: a qualitative research study in an Iranian context

ABSTRACT

Background: Although women with a drug user spouse face many problems in the family, research in Iran has been limited in this regard and serious attention has not been paid to the problems of this group of women. This study aimed to understand the problems and challenges facing women with a substance use spouse.

Methods: Qualitative content analysis was used in this study. The population consisted of women whose spouse was involved in substance use. In present study, 26 women with a drug user spouse were selected according to the purposive sampling method with the theoretical saturation criterion. Semi-structured interviews were used for data collection, and analysis of the data was done using the thematic method.

Results: Five categories of women’s problems were found from the in-depth interviews. These categories included: feeling alienated, poor support, violence and maltreatment, drama and chaos, and exclusion and isolation.

Conclusions: The findings of this study indicate that women living with a drug user spouse face several problems and need understanding and support to alleviate their problems; protection and factors that will improve tolerance should be considered.

KEYWORDS:

• Substance use
• substance user spouse
• qualitative analysis
• women

Acknowledgments

The authors appreciated the help of everyone who participated in this study.